The Man Who Conquered
by etErnALChaOsMaKer
Summary: Voldemort's rebirth and Cedric Diggory's death, instead of reducing Harry to a guilty, pathetic mess, unlocks his Slytherin cunning to support his Gyffindor courage. Find out how and see the Boy-Who-Lived become the Man-Who-Conquered. Rated M just in case. On a break.. Don't know if I'll be coming back to this... :(
1. Chapter 01: Home Bitter Home

AN: This story continues after Harry's fourth year. I have made some minor changes regarding the dialogue between Harry and the echoes of his parents. You'll find out as the story goes on. Warning: I do love reading a good romance, but this story isn't gonna be very fluffy or romantic. It's eventually a Harry/Fleur ship, which is my favourite and admittedly, hard to portray convincingly. This is my first fanfic on this side, so plz do review. Visit my profile for a more detailed summary. Oh, before i forget, I don't own the Harry Potter universe, though i wish i did. :P

Chapter 1: Home Bitter Home

It's the start of the summer vacation. A time teenagers look forward to; a time of opportunities, be it for finding work or finding love. A time most people look forward to as a chunk of the year not dictated by the whims of Professors. A precious time that is free of the pressure of exams and most of all, a time to re-connect with family.

Not for Harry Potter. For him, summer was always associated with feelings of helplessness and resignation. He was not looking forward to the Dursleys' looks of disgust, the glee that'd surely be on Dudley's face when he saw the return of the family punching bag. "At least he isn't that eager to come close to me these days, thank Merlin for small favours" mused Harry later, while idly staring out the window of the brand new car Vernon Dursley had bought just last month, courtesy of his promotion to Vice President of Productions at Grunnings. Harry had been in the company of his dear family for a mere hour and already, he was feeling sick of his uncle's boasting. He was feeling a savage pleasure that he had no need of remembering anything about cars, considering the wonders of Portkeys and Floo Travel.

"Do you know, Dudley, that this beauty costs a thousand pounds more than our previous car? Be sure to tell your friends about that. I'll even let you take her out for a drive with your friends once I've made sure all our neighbours got a good look at her. And boy," He growled, noticing the lack of anything resembling astonishment or envy on Harry's pensive face, "you'll make sure she's gleaming like she's brand new every weekend, it's about time you put more effort into your chores, I'll not have you becoming lazy from all the freaks' coddling."

Harry turned from the window to look right into his uncle's piggish face and feeling daring, he ignored Dudley's sniggering and said "You know, uncle, I can go two hundred miles per hour on my broomstick, that's almost twice as fast as your new car can go."

Predictably, Petunia gasped at the mention of something remotely magical. Dudley, surprisingly, looked impressed for a second before he changed his look to one of guilty pleasure, no doubt envisioning Harry's imminent comeuppance.

Vernon gave a nasty jerk, and almost crashed into the car in front. Hurriedly rolling up the tinted windows to block out the driver's angry recriminations, Vernon turned to Harry and said, in what he presumably thought was a scary whisper (though it sounded to Harry more like fear that his voice would carry to the surrounding traffic) "Boy, I've told you umpteen times not to mention your unnaturalness near me and my family. Not another word out of your ungrateful mouth. You can start asking our forgiveness by waxing the car as soon as you've put your freakish stuff away and helped your aunt Petunia and Dudley unload their things."

Harry sighed and said "Uncle, I'm too old, and more importantly, I've seen too many terrible things to be intimidated by you any longer. Besides, you can't force me to do anything as you'll find when a few of my kind visit later this week to make sure you're treating me properly."

At this, Dudley looked positively terrified and his hand, Harry noticed with satisfaction, instinctively moved a few inches closer to his bulging bottom. Petunia looked mightily offended and a little bit scared at the thought of wizards invading her prim and proper home. Vernon's reaction, however, was most comical. His face grew purple at being talked back to by Harry, before hastily turning a shade of delicate yellow as he processed what was actually said.

Gathering up his meager courage, he bellowed "How dare you invite your freaks into my house! I ought to give you a good thrashing to remind you who's in charge here!"

Harry remained unaffected and responded "Look, uncle Vernon, this may surprise you, but this time, I don't want them to come here after me almost as much as you do." Seeing his uncle shocked out of his rage, he continued "There are a few things that have happened in my world recently that you need to be aware of." Petunia's look changed to one of complete fear, and Harry thought she may have some idea what's coming. "I don't care if you don't think it's important, your lives are in danger from Voldemort. He's returned and he's already killed one of my friends". Here, Harry's breath hitched with pain as images of Cedric's dead, haunted eyes rose unbidden in his mind. Forcibly, Harry deflected his thoughts to the words he heard from his parents, and from them he found the strength to go on; "and he'll try his best to find and kill me too, so it's in your best interest to learn how to protect yourselves and make sure he doesn't find where I live."

"What is this nonsense boy? You must be even more delinquent than I thought if you think you can get away from honest work by making up fairy tales!" barked Vernon, with a touch of satisfaction in his voice.

Harry kept quiet for a minute as No. 4 Privet Drive loomed up from amongst the identical boxed, plain white houses that were the feature of middle class neighbourhoods like Little Whinging. Even after living there all his life, Harry could only recognise it from the writing on the post box and the row of daisies he'd grown under the hall windows in an effort to personalize his so-called home. As soon as his uncle parked the car, Harry continued, his voice rising a bit to make sure his relatives took him seriously this time "I'm not making up tales! Do you know who Hitler was? Well, Voldemort is the wizarding equivalent of Hitler and he was brought back, from the state he was in after trying to kill me when I was a year old, with the help of his followers. I'm sure aunt Petunia at least, knows what I'm talking about."

Petunia nodded, but Vernon, refusing to acknowledge the imminent broadening of his perspective, shook his head and said "What do I care what that madman Voldy-whatever and his pet freaks get up to? You can all go kill each other, good riddance, I'd say!"

At this, Harry laughed out loud, though it was a sarcastic laugh, and said, while still being amazed that his muggle relatives can say what they remember of Voldemort's name without the slightest fear, "Listen closely uncle, this Voldemort is a madman, just like you said. However, in his twisted mind, he hates all muggles, in other words, people like you and Aunt Petunia and Dudley, and if he or his followers ever get their hands on you, they'll TORTURE you to death! Do you understand that? Please, for once in your life listen to me, I'm trying to tell you how to protect yourselves!"

All three of his relatives looked scared for a second, and then they grew quiet with regret and determination. "All right, boy. Keep quiet and we'll talk after we get inside. And don't think this gets you out of all your work, you'll still help us unload and put our things away." Vernon muttered regretfully, before getting out of the car and helping Petunia out.

Nothing like the threat of death to make people see reason, thought Harry cheerfully, before getting out and opening the trunk. Thank you mom and dad for helping me look at things in a proper light. I hope I can soon become the man you wanted me to be. If you're thinking of me, Voldy, better watch out, because Harry Potter is going to become like nothing you've seen before!

Far, far away, in Riddle manor, a figure was sleeping quietly on dark green silk sheets, resting from the fiasco that was his rebirth. The figure, better known to the wizarding world as You-Know-Who, also known as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and better known by his closest enemies as Lord Voldemort, twitched once in his sleep. This was going to be an interesting summer.

AN: A relatively short chapter, but there's lots to come, so stay with me. :P


	2. Chapter 02: The Game is Afoot

Chapter 2 – The Game is Afoot

AN: Enjoy the second chapter. This will be the kind of word count I'd keep the chapters to. As usual, I don't own the Harry Potter universe, but I did dream that I did, once. : P

AN 2: Did a little format improvement. Thoughts are not in "quotes" any longer. I've re-structured the sentences to remove the need for them.

Later that evening, Harry found himself in a decidedly odd mood. As a child, when he didn't know better, he'd always dreamt that one day his aunt and uncle would show him the same kind of love they showered Dudley with. Now, over a decade after his dreams and hopes with regard to his family had all dried up, he found that he had the Dursleys' attention, at least for this evening.

In hindsight, Harry realised that his aunt and uncle were as capable of loving him like a son as they were of loving anyone like a son, that is to say that they were incapable of that particular feat. Too bad, thought Harry, with a sad look at his cousin as he came waddling down the stairs at the smell of cooked food, they don't even realise that they view Dudley as another fancy object to show off to their neighbours. My parents, on the other hand, helped me grow even from beyond the grave. I really pity you now, Dudley.

As soon as Vernon and Dudley had stomped off to the television and kitchen respectively, Harry had helped Petunia put away the Dursleys' shopping. Of course, mused Harry bitterly, while he dusted off Petunia's latest fake-china flower vase and placed it in careful view of every window and doorway possible, they'd use the trip to fetch me as an excuse to shop for more pretentious knickknacks, can't have them thinking that Vernon's precious new car would ever be used to do favours for me, now, can we?

He'd tried to talk to his 'family' about the danger they were now in, but his aunt, knowing perfectly well that the neighbours would be curious about the trip, from having peered over the fence at numbers three and five often enough herself, had shushed him with a hasty glance out the window and told him they could talk at dinner. After he'd helped prepare and serve it, mind.

Dinner started like it usually did. Uncle Vernon sat on one side of the table and started looking through the evening paper, grumbling about the state of the government. Aunt Petunia sat at the side facing the window so that she could keep an eye out for gossip material. Dudley sat at the side facing the television and proceeded to ignore all else. From past experience, Harry knew that only one thing could unglue his face from the set: Harry getting shouted at.

However, Dudley, with hitherto unsuspected depth of thought, sensed that Harry won't be getting dressed down today, and confined his attentions to the boxing show that was on. The occasion departed further from the Privet Drive normal when Harry noticed that his helping was comparable to his aunt's, though nowhere near the size of Vernon's or Dudley's.

Vernon addressed Harry, without putting down the paper (there was only so much contact of any kind he could bear with the magical world) "Well boy, what is this crackpot story about our family being in danger?"

Harry responded "Well, you remember the reason why I was left to your care all those years ago? Despite the lies you fed to me?" For a moment, he thought he saw regret in his aunt's eyes, before it was replaced with disgust at the mention of the magical world. "To put it simply, without using too many m-words, the wizard who did that, Voldemort, got back to full strength during the end of my term. He wants to kill me very badly; in fact, it's me who he wanted to kill when I was a year old. My parents were simply in his way. So with the permission of the people who're looking after me, I'd like to discuss ways you can escape if he ever gets here."

"Why did he want to kill you then? You were only a baby!" Harry was shocked to hear these words from Dudley, of all people. He really is surprising me today. Maybe he finally started to notice girls too and wants to improve his character, thought Harry. He felt strange thinking of his cousin as a normal teenage boy. Harry used to think of him as an insurmountable obstruction that prevented him from forming friends.

"Wow! I'm surprised that you care Dudley." said Harry.

"Don't talk to my son like that!" barked Vernon.

"I don't know what you're talking about, my Diddikins was always a kind, thoughtful boy." added Petunia, looking fondly at her son.

Yeah right, thought Harry. "To answer Dudley's question, I don't know myself. I asked Professor Dumbledore, but he said I wasn't ready to know it yet. Putting that aside, there are a group of people who Professor Dumbledore formed to fight Voldemort, and they want your permission to install a connection to the Floo network here." Observing three confused looks, Harry clarified "Basically, the fireplace will be made magical so that you can escape through it the same way Mr Weasley came last summer."

"I'm not letting you blow up the fireplace again. That fool who came here only fixed up the wall and put the pieces of the electric fire back together. It didn't actually work and I had to pay a fortune to try and fix it up." shouted Vernon, "I ought to sue that man, the first five maintenance men couldn't find out what was wrong with it, but still insisted on charging me for their services!"

Trying hard not to laugh at that, Harry tried to diffuse his uncle's rage. "I'm sorry about that uncle. But if the bad guys come here, they'll seal the place so that no one can physically leave. It's the only way you three can escape if that happens."

"But I can't remove the electric fire and put a primitive wood-burning fireplace back in its place! What would the neighbours think?" wailed his aunt.

Harry had been hoping she'd say something like that. Time to move in for the kill, thought Harry. "There is a way around that aunt Petunia. I can put up a fireplace in my room. There won't actually be any fire there normally. It'll only take a few hours to set it up. I can even ask them to make it so that no one who doesn't already know that it is there can see it. So you don't have to worry about the neighbours. It'll be safer that way too, and out of your way."

His aunt thought about it for a few minutes, no doubt trying to find something to complain about. Not finding anything, she reluctantly said "All right. Make sure we know it's there. Also, in exchange for this inconvenience, you'll wax and wash the car tomorrow."

Harry contained his glee. They'd no doubt change their minds in an instant if the suspected that Harry got something he had wanted. "It's decided then. If you'll allow me, I'll send a letter after dinner asking them to come and set it up tomorrow. It's best to have it in place as soon as possible uncle."

"Very well. Make sure to tell them not to show themselves to the neighbours, boy. I know your kind doesn't even have the decency to dress properly. I don't want them to show their faces to someone and start any nasty rumours." said Vernon warningly.

After finishing his food as quickly as possible, Harry excused himself and went up to his room to find Hedwig. Seeing the perch he'd set up for her empty, he concluded that she was out for an early hunt tonight. She should be back before midnight, Harry thought, and sat down to write a letter to Ron, informing that he had obtained permission from his relatives.

_Dear Ron,_

_Cheers! I got permission from the Dursleys to set up a Floo connection in my room. Inform your dad, and be sure to tell him to send someone tomorrow. I don't want to wait too long in case they change their mind. I'll make sure that the Dursleys are out of their way, and you make sure whoever comes here tries not to be spotted by the neighbours. It was part of the bargain. Hopefully, I'd be able to sneak through to your house and we can roam around the village. I don't want to be stuck here any longer than necessary. We could maybe invite Hermione to visit you and hang out. I'm sure they'll be setting up a watch here to 'keep me safe', so I'd appreciate it if you keep these plans away from the adults._

_Hope to see you soon._

_Yours,_

_Harry_

There, that looks all right, thought Harry. I really hope this works out soon. I ought to send a letter to Hermione too, inviting her to come over. I intend to make full use of this connection. Harry then dozed into a light nap waiting for Hedwig to return.

x-x

Harry was walking down a meadow alongside Cedric, who was dressed in running shorts and a sports shirt that showed off his physique. Cedric had his wand out and Harry was just thinking about where he was and how he got here when suddenly, the sky grew dark. Giant cracks and fissures started to appear in the ground, which split open to reveal rows and rows of tombstones buried with age.

The shapes and arrangement of tombstones had a disquieting familiarity to Harry but he just couldn't place it. Cedric looked around nervously and said "Maybe you should keep your wand ready, Harry." Harry silently agreed and was in the process of drawing his wand when he heard something shuffling behind them. Heart racing, expecting something bad to happen, Harry whirled around at the same instant the figure cast a sickly green curse in their direction.

Unlike in his real life, Harry was frozen to the ground in shock and fear and watched as the curse just missed him and went on to strike Cedric, who was jumping to shield Harry without thinking about what curse it was. Harry desperately turned back toward Cedric and tried to push him away, to shout a warning, to at least scream out his frustration and feeling of helplessness, but he could only watch in silence at the curse hit Cedric, who fell to the ground in a boneless heap with an expression of concern and intense concentration on his face.

Harry felt the horror of his friend's death strike him all over again and was too overcome with guilt to even notice as the unknown figure cast the Avada Kedavra curse again, this time aimed at him. Fear winning over his guilt, he turned once again and his vision was covered with intense green light. He heard the rushing sound of approaching death and woke up in his bedroom at No. 4, Privet Drive, with a gasp, sweating profusely.

x-x

It was just a dream, a stupid nightmare, Harry told himself repeatedly. He took deep breaths to slow his heartbeat down to normal. Trying to banish the lingering feeling of guilt, he forced himself to remember what had actually happened that fateful night.

In his mind, Cedric died yet again from Pettigrew's curse. Harry however, skipped over Voldemort's rebirth, the Death Eaters' arrival, and even the duel till he came to the first words his mother told him in that strange place.

"Harry, it's wonderful to see you again, my baby. I know you must be feeling really guilty right now as you had coerced Cedric into taking the Triwizard Cup with you. I've watched you grow over the years, and you never tried to take anyone's choices away. You always tried to keep your friends safe but you never tried to forcibly prevent Ron or Hermione from following you into your adventures. You've always known that the choice to put one's life at risk is one's own. You tried your best to _talk _your friends into staying behind but you left the final choice to them."

"You must realise that Cedric too made his own choices tonight. It was his choice as much as yours to take the Cup with you. It was his choice to stay next to you instead of fleeing after sensing danger. You couldn't have done anything in that instant. I'm sure Cedric's echo told you this itself before you came here. You would have done your best had you had a chance. I don't want you to be guilty as this was not in your power to prevent. I want my son to learn from this and better himself."

That was the start of a long, and only, talk that Harry had with his parents. They had told him many more things about himself. They told him that they were going to use this one chance to raise him; to help him grow past his feelings of guilt over things beyond his control.

Harry knew that others had told him this same thing later. He even remembered Hermione telling him that whatever had happened wasn't his fault. Even Cedric's parents had thanked him for bringing back their son's body. It wouldn't have affected him that deeply had anyone else told him similar things. However, this was extremely special. It was the kind of moment that Harry had dreamed about a thousand times. It was the thought that maybe he could talk like this to his parents someday that had made Harry so reckless and not at all fearful of death.

Focusing completely on his parents' advice, he once again deliberately let go of his guilt about Cedric's death. Grinning at the memory of his mother's smile and his father's look of pride as his hazel eyes fell upon his son, Harry went back to sleep, and this time slept undisturbed, not even stirring when Hedwig returned with a letter. She cut off the string with her beak, put the letter on his bedside table, and flew out the open window, this time for a hunt.

x-x

From ingrained behaviour, Harry woke up quite early the next day. He felt the warm beam of sunlight on his face and loved the feel of it. Unfortunately, his traitorous brain served up his promise to clean the car and dampened his spirits considerably. You betrayed me, brain! Harry thought. Caught up in a rare moment of childishness, he got an idea to ask Hermione if there was a spell to remove his brain so that he could stop it from betraying him with guilty thoughts. Hmmm, maybe I should put it in that letter I wanted to send her.

Harry found his glasses and got up from his bed to freshen up, glasses in hand. When he came back to his room, he found Hedwig sound asleep in her perch. Feeling slightly guilty at waking her, he first added a postscript in his letter to Ron.

_P.S. I meant to send this yesterday, but Hedwig was out hunting. So, make sure someone comes around today to put up the fireplace._

Harry then gently nudged Hedwig awake. When she gave an annoyed hoot at being disturbed from her circadian rhythms, Harry said "I'm sorry girl; I know you're nocturnal, but I really need you to take this to The Burrow. It'll mean that I don't bother you that much, as I'll have a way to visit people by myself."

At this, Hedwig became fully alert, and nipped Harry's left ear hard. Harry hissed in pain and realised that Hedwig was angry at him mentioning that he may not need her that much anymore. He chuckled and said "Ok, that means you won't be bothered by delivering this letter for me. I'll love you as much even if you stop delivering my letters." Hedwig softened at this and hooted in an apologising manner before flying out with Harry's letter.

I sometimes feel that she understands me better than anyone, thought Harry. He turned to his desk to start on his letter to Hermione and noticed that Hedwig had delivered a letter last night. He realised that Hedwig must have gone out for it last night and concluded that the letter was mostly from Hermione, since she was the most likely person to send him letters who did not have an owl of their own. He sat down to read the letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_I know it's a bit too soon to send you a letter, but I am worried about you. I know your relatives don't treat you that well and I felt that you needed some support to deal with happened during You-Know-Who's rebirth. Like I said before, please don't blame yourself Harry. His return and more importantly, Cedric's death were in no way your fault. Reply as soon as possible and tell me you've stopped beating yourself up over what happened._

_I know that you and Ron think I'm bossy sometimes, but I really want to be there for you now. If you feel that you need someone to talk to, don't hesitate to tell me. I'll make sure to visit you, no matter how your relatives might treat me. If you don't want me feeling bad about leaving you to your relatives, than I ask you to let me in to how you're feeling._

_Hope to hear from you soon._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

_P.S. I was wondering whether to send this to you through the post, when Hedwig showed up. It's fascinating how magical owls can sense such a situation. I'll look it up as soon as possible._

Harry sat back and simply marvelled at the way Hermione had written the letter. Looking through it, he saw how smoothly she had gone from expressing her concern to summarily pronouncing her notion of his blamelessness. She had then proceeded to reveal her somewhat personal thought and subtly tried to blackmail him into opening up, with the added titbit as something to trade for. Harry really felt that her postscript was the only part that was spontaneously written. Of course, the part about wanting to be there for me is genuine too, he amended.

I'm sure this letter would have cracked through my walls of denial and guilt, if I had had any, thought Harry. Despite the planned nature of the letter, Harry felt grateful that she did try to be there for him. He felt a bit surprised that she had an idea about his summer life, but immediately decided that of course, she was more than smart enough to piece it together from his various comments about the Dursleys. Harry then started on his reply.

_Dear Hermione,_

_It's funny, I was just thinking of writing to you yesterday, probably around the same time you wrote this, I reckon. Believe it or not, I'm not feeling too bad. I'm feeling sad about Cedric, but I realised that I had done all I could for him. As for Voldemort, I'll deal with that when I need to. I've been telling you for some time to start saying, and consequently writing, his name. Professor Dumbledore told me that fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself._

_I also wanted to tell you that Dumbledore has offered to set up a discrete Floo connection here, to make sure my relatives and I can escape if the need arises. It'll hopefully be set up today. I've wrangled permission for it from my relatives by convincing them that it's purely for their safety. I'd like it if you visited. Just go to The Burrow first, as it's probably not safe to try and connect from a public location._

_I appreciate your concern Hermione, but it's really unnecessary and if you insist that I should talk about it, I'll tell you in person. I don't want to go into it in a letter. However, I'm sure that people will be keeping a watch over me, so we won't be able to go out, though we can sneak to The Burrow._

_Love,_

_Harry_

_P.S. Ron and I don't really think you're bossy sometimes. We know that you're bossy all the time. I like you as you are, though it irritates Ron. Don't worry about it, anyway. Also, do you know a spell to remove my brain from my head? Just curious._

Having finished the letter, Harry put it away. It's probably a good idea to put off bathing till after I clean the car, Harry thought, and went down to help his aunt prepare breakfast.

x-x

Later that afternoon, Harry was lying on his bed lazily enjoying the fact that his privileges as champion had extended to him not even being given summer assignments. Vernon, showing a rare streak of brilliance, had taken Petunia and Dudley out for the day in the newly waxed and washed car so as to save them from the upcoming wizard contact. He had, however, not forgotten to obtain a promise from Harry not to touch the television, Dudley's computer or anything else he thought Harry would like to touch. Harry had agreed as he didn't really care either way.

Harry was abruptly awakened from his almost-nap by a loud crash from the hall. There wouldn't have been time for Ron to send Harry information about who was coming when, so he thought that this was probably the person who was to set up the fireplace. No Death Eater would be that clumsy, unless it's Crabbe or Goyle senior, judging from their sons, mused Harry. Still, it never hurt to be safe. Banking on a law Sirius had told him before they parted, that said even underage wizards are allowed to use magic to defend themselves, Harry took out his wand and kept it ready as he stealthily climbed down the staircase.

Just before he turned the corner that'd allow him to see into the hall, Harry heard a female voice grumble "Damn it, I was hoping to make a better impression on the Harry Potter. I hope nobody heard that."

That considerably lessened the chance that it's a Death Eater, thought Harry. He carefully poked his wand into the hall and said quickly "Unfortunately for you, I did hear that. If you don't want to be cursed, tell me, what does the word Snuffles mean to you?" Harry figured that whoever was in Professor Dumbledore's select group probably knew all about Sirius.

The voice replied excitedly "Ooooh, that's a good question. 'Snuffles' is Sirius Black, who's my first cousin, once removed. They told me you were brave and smart, but they forgot to mention cautious and cunning." With a pleasant jolt in his stomach, Harry moved into the hall to get his first look at Sirius' relative. What he saw was a young witch with a heart shaped face, dark brown eyes and short, spiky hair that was an eye-watering electric blue, who was still trying to untangle herself from the rug she'd tripped over.

"You look nothing like Sirius." said Harry, with a mix of curiosity, caution and disappointment. To his shock, her hair turned black and lengthened to her shoulders, her eyes turned grey and her face changed to resemble a female version of his godfather.

"What do you think, now?" She asked, with a saucy wink that looked disturbingly like Sirius' own.

Harry stumbled back and stammered, recovering from his surprise "H- H- How did you do that?"

She turned back to her original form and winked again "Magic, Harry, magic. I'm Tonks, by the way." She said, extending her hand towards him in a formal gesture that looked completely at odds with her look and general behaviour.

Harry shook the offered hand, asked "Er, is that your first name or your last?" and was taken aback at the severity of the scowl that marred her face.

"If you must know, my first name is Nymphadora and I prefer being addressed as Tonks." Harry thought she hadn't needed to add the last bit as her eyes had glinted with extreme annoyance simply at mentioning her first name.

Still a bit unsure about how to behave, Harry asked hesitantly "So, do you want to come up to my room?"

Tonks had a teasing look on her face when she replied "Not very smooth, Mr Potter. A girl would expect you to ask some more things about her before making a move."

It suddenly hit Harry that he was talking to a pretty witch while no one was home. He blushed furiously and blurted "I didn't mean it like that!"

Tonks laughed out loud and said "I knew you didn't. Arthur told me that I was to put up the fireplace in your room. Still, you look cute when you blush. How I wish I was into younger men!"

Harry started to walk out of the hall. When Tonks followed him, he ignored her last statement and commented "I thought girls didn't like to admit their age?"

Again, surprisingly, she looked unflustered instead of offended. "I'd like to think I am different from the other girls. I had to develop quite a bit of self-confidence to deal with being a Metamorphmagus." She replied.

Harry guessed that that meant her shape changing ability. "So how did you become one?" he asked.

"Bet that impressed you, eh? Sorry, you have to be born with it. Oh, I'm happy to see that this is your room. The rest of the house looked a little too uptight." Tonks said, looking over his slightly messy room with an approving eye.

"To be honest, I was pretty impressed when you didn't gape at my scar like everyone else I've met." Harry confessed gratefully.

Tonks looked a bit uncomfortable at that. "Well, I have to admit, I cheated a bit. I asked Sirius about you and he said you hated that. He also said you'd be impressed that I am an Auror." She finished, waiting for Harry's reaction.

She was not disappointed when Harry looked mightily impressed. He added admiringly "I want to become one. You look too young to be an Auror."

Tonks replied happily "I just passed the training last month. Wow, being admired by THE Harry Potter is a heady feeling. Though I must admit, I am too unimportant to start any of the cool stuff, and the Order are all busy dealing with plans for Voldemort so I turned out to be the rookie sent to set up your fireplace. Don't worry though, I am perfectly capable of setting up a Floo connection and what's more, keeping it out of the Ministry's records."

Harry indicated the wall he thought best for setting up the fireplace. It was difficult to view from both out of the window and the doorway. Tonks nodded in approval and stated about transfiguring a fireplace into existence from the wall.

Harry was glad to have news of the magical world and questioned "What's the Order? When and where did you talk to Sirius?" Tonks replied without turning from her work "The Order, more precisely The Order of the Phoenix, is a group of witches and wizards Professor Dumbledore formed to combat Voldemort in the first war. The people still alive from last time have recruited new people, like me, to help with the war effort this time. I can't tell you anything more about what we're doing right now. Sirius is staying at the headquarters, but I can't tell you where it is. Magic is preventing me, sorry."

"Fidelius?" queried Harry. Tonks was so surprised at his knowledge that she gaped at him, paying for her lack of attention when a piece of the wall being removed whacked her in the arm.

Turning back and rubbing her arm, she replied "I'm amazed that you are aware of it. I didn't think they thought us that by our fourth year. Did extra training for the Triwizard Tournament?" She realised her slip-up a moment later "Oh I'm so sorry to have brought that up! I'm hopeless at tact. Please, ignore that." She hastily amended.

Harry replied steadily "It's all right. I'm dealing with it. You're easy to talk to. Actually, I learnt about it in my third year around the same time I found that Sirius was supposed to have betrayed my parents. By the way, I'm impressed that you said Voldemort's name. Is it an Auror thing?"

"No, it's due to the fact that my mother Andromeda Black, Sirius' cousin, married a muggleborn wizard, Ted Tonks. I hate to break it to you, but other than those two, the rest of the Blacks were a bunch of pure-blooded bigots who firmly believed in Voldemort's ideals. They promptly disowned my mum, and I grew up around muggles. I never learnt to fear the name, as it wasn't mentioned much while I was growing up." She said, shrugging.

"It's the same with me. It always tickles me when I realise that my relatives, who squawk in fear and disapproval at words like 'magic' or 'wizard' can say Voldemort's name without the slightest flinch." Harry said.

Tonks frowned as she completed carving out a basic fireplace, a slightly decorated depression in the wall with no chimney. She commented disapprovingly, as she explained about the charms to automatically absorb smoke and remove the need for wood, "They don't sound very nice. Why don't you come over to our house after I finish this in a few minutes? It's in the muggle world. We can test out the Floo connection, and I don't think anyone will look for you there."

Harry didn't even think about it for a second, anywhere was better than being stuck here. "Meeting the parents already? A little fast don't you think?" He smirked, and Tonks responded by rolling her eyes. "Sure, I'd love to come over. Is there any way you can set up something where I know if someone enters the house? I'd like to know when the Dursleys arrive so I can come back before they come into the room, so that I can show them the fireplace. They won't be able to see it otherwise."

Tonks looked up in surprise, but she quickly turned back from experience before she said "Thanks! I forgot to add that charm. Hmmm, there, all done. I've also set up a perimeter charm around the house that tells you when someone comes inside the boundaries which I've set to be the outermost walls of the house. That'll tell you if anyone comes inside, but it can't identify them. Just tap it with your wand to turn it on or off. You won't do enough magic to be detected by the Ministry. It'll last about two months, but I'll be coming before that to check the other charms anyway."

Harry grinned "Thanks a bunch, Tonks."

Tonks grinned back "No problem Harry." She then adopted a grim look that Harry assumed did wonders for her in Auror Academy. "Now, before we go, we have to plan to keep you as safe as possible. First rule, if anything bad happens; I want you to Floo right back here. I'll deal with whatever happens on my end. The Floo address is simply 'No. 4, Privet Drive'. Second rule is that if the fireplace is damaged or if you are unable to leave through the fireplace for some reason, you will try and escape via your broomstick, which you'll keep with you at all times. I'll put up a toggle-able shrink/revert spell on it. Lastly, and most importantly, if I say anything else, you have to obey my orders. Consider it like Auror training, but if you don't agree to this, I'm not taking you. What's your decision?"

For an instant Harry felt guilty at the possibility of leaving Tonks and her family to the mercy of Death Eaters. I'm definitely not going to do that. However, that's such a remote possibility that I can make that promise without feeling guilty as I probably won't have to break it. Besides, she doesn't know about my Invisibility Cloak, concluded Harry, in his mind. He told Tonks "Ok, I agree. Let me just take this letter I want to send to Hermione. Here's my broom."

Tonks then shrunk his broom, tapped it twice to make sure both reversal and shrinkage worked properly and returned it to him. "Oh man! A Firebolt! I'm so jealous!" She squealed, while she was performing the charms. "I want to try it out!"

Harry chuckled and said, "Sure, no problem. Can you go forward, announce our arrival and come back for me? I don't want to startle your parents." As soon as she shouted "Bog House" and disappeared through the roaring green flames, Harry opened the loose floorboard under his bed and bought out his Invisibility Cloak, which he stuffed into the pocket not containing his broom.

Tonks, instead of coming back completely, merely poked her head out of the fire, and said "It's all set. Come on through." Harry nodded, and when Tonks' face receded, he stepped through with a smile, happy that he was able to enjoy his summer this time around.


	3. Chapter 03: The Dark Lord Awakens

Chapter 3 – The Dark Lord Awakens

AN: Third chapter up! We'll have a look at the Dark side, before we continue with Harry's summer. I'm giving you fair warning (though this ought to be a reason for celebration) that Voldemort will be very different from canon, more capable of his reputation. Also, this story deviates from canon right after Harry's and Voldemort's spells connected, as some of you may have figured out by now. Find out some more in this chapter. Enjoy :P

On the same day Harry was getting a visit from Tonks, far more sinister happenings were occurring in the laid back village of Little Hangleton. The Hanged Man was found a tad crowded that evening. It was getting a lot of business. One couldn't call it good business, not with a fair conscience. But still, an unusual number of people had turned up at the lone village pub to drink off their unease.

The village blacksmith saw his friend the baker enter the pub, and hailed him over to spare him from looking for a suitable table. The baker approached and saw his friend ordering a large whiskey for him, and sat down without objecting.

The blacksmith murmured, "Strange night isn't it? The last time this pub got such a crowd was last summer, when everyone condemned poor Frank before finding him dead, just like the Riddles all those years ago."

"Aye", the baker replied "I feel that this place has never been the same since. I was getting ready to turn in for the night, the wife already asleep, when I felt a strange shiver run through my spine. Then I started getting all kind of nasty thoughts in my head, started remembering the old man's long and drawn out death in the sick bed. I decided that I needed a stiff drink, and lo and behold, I find the place like this."

"You're not the only one to feel so tonight. From what I've been hearing, most people seem to be feeling scared." said the blacksmith, soothing his friend. "I do reckon you're right, the Riddle house must have some curse on it. Maybe the Riddles' ghosts are haunting the place, not even the boys who liked to dare each other go anywhere near the place, last I heard."

The blacksmith didn't know how close he was to the truth. Muggles couldn't actually become ghosts, but Voldemort had trapped the essences of his father and grandparents inside the house with dark magic. They weren't sentient enough to be real ghosts, but they gave a foreboding presence to the place that caused the house to be a favourite target of foolish dares.

More importantly, the essences could still sense the presence of their killer, and there were traces of dread, pain and horror hanging in the air that actually helped Voldemort heal faster. Peter Pettigrew felt more cowardly than usual when in the manor and even Lucius Malfoy felt an implacable fear in the back of his mind. None of the Death Eaters realized that it was because their master had awoken, and had at last recovered from the events succeeding his rebirth.

Lord Voldemort, on regaining his consciousness, went through the last thing he remembered. He had cast the Killing Curse at Potter at the same time the boy had tried to disarm him. The curses had connected. After that, he had blacked out. He seemed to regain consciousness briefly and issued an intense need to transport his master to this place to that rat, Wormtail, before blackness took him once more.

He hissed to Nagini, who was lying near his bed, "Find the rat, and bring him to me." She needed no further instruction, and promptly slithered out. Concentrating on the wards he had set up, he could also detect the presence of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. No doubt, thought Voldemort, he wanted to be present when I woke, to impress his loyalty upon me. He still seems to dread a personal meeting very much. Good, good, perhaps I'll have a chat with him after Wormtail.

In another part of the manor, Pettigrew was distracted from flashes of painful memories, like being cornered by Remus and Sirius a year ago and cutting of his hand for his master more recently. When he noticed the source, he trembled further, knowing that his master wanted his presence. Last year, Pettigrew took solace from the fact that he felt a little disgust for the wrinkled lump that was The Dark Lord. It helped curb his terror at his master's presence. However, since The Dark Lord regained his body, Pettigrew once again felt full-fledged fear, like during the first war.

He entered his Lord's bedroom and immediately fell to his knees and kissed the hem of his master's robes. "You wanted to see m- me, my L- Lord?" he squeaked, shaking with terror. He was the first one summoned to The Dark Lord's presence after the fiasco that was his rebirth and he was expecting pain any second.

Voldemort surveyed him for a moment from the armchair, inhaling his terror, finding it utterly rejuvenating. It was the prime reason he kept Pettigrew alive, these days. Though he has been actually useful lately, he acknowledged. "Rise, Peter. This time, I'm not displeased at your actions. You fulfilled your part. I'm aware that competence is especially rare in your case and I'm capable of appreciating it when it occurs."

Wormtail got to his feet, mumbling "Th- Th- Thank you, my Lord. I'm glad to be of service."

Voldemort hissed "I did not permit you to speak, Wormtail." and savoured the immediate flash of panic that rose in his servant. "However, I will overlook it this time on account of your recent, ah, usefulness." Wormtail stayed motionless, too scared to even nod in response.

Without warning, Voldemort tore into his mind to view what had happened after he had fainted. He batted aside Pettigrew's fear with ease and came to his memory of that night. The moment the curses connected, his Killing curse seemed to spread though Potter's curse and envelop Potter in a deadly cocoon of light. It was followed by an intense backlash as the light erupted, knocking out Voldemort completely. It seemed to affect the Death Eaters to varying degrees. Most of them were knocked back and those who dropped unconscious did only as a result of physical injury and not due to any magical effect. However, he noticed that Wormtail's perception dimmed, indicating that he had transformed out of fear, and immediately went out, indicating that he had become magically unconscious like Voldemort himself. He noted, however, that Malfoy and Nott seemed to be least affected.

Voldemort ruthlessly held on to the memory even after Pettigrew blacked out and was rewarded with the memory of him waking. He noticed that Pettigrew had run scared to Voldemort. He noted that Potter had woken before Pettigrew had and was running towards the dead boy's body with the few conscious Death Eaters trying to curse him into capture. He then noticed himself waking for a few seconds before Wormtail's mind was overcome with a sudden need to bring his master to the Riddle manor.

Coming out of Pettigrew's mind, Voldemort emotionlessly watched him writhing on the floor in pain before gasping in relief but continuing to twitch. Weakling, he thought, before waving his wand. Mindless pain, though entertaining, had no actual use to Voldemort. Wormtail immediately stopped twitching and rose to a bow.

"Very well, Wormtail, though your actions were cowardly and selfish, you managed to carry out my instructions. For that, you have Lord Voldemort's favour. Go now and fetch Malfoy." He said dismissively, leaning back to contemplate his meeting with Malfoy and his recently witnessed behaviour.

Pettigrew left in haste, relieved to have escaped the Cruciatus Curse, and within a minute Voldemort sensed Malfoy's approach. Malfoy bowed respectfully at the door and waited for Voldemort to notice him. On receiving a curt nod from the latter, he immediately fell to his knees and kissed the hem of his robes, just like Pettigrew did. He was much more accomplished at hiding his fear from his face than Wormtail, but Voldemort could sense it anyway through the mark.

"Lucius" Voldemort started, in a calm voice that his intelligent Death Eaters knew indicated danger, "I have just had the pleasure of viewing your performance on the night of the rebirth. I know that you and Nott, along with a handful of other Death Eaters, were conscious after the backlash. I find it curious, my friend. Perhaps you have an explanation?"

Voldemort could tell that Malfoy attached no particular alarm to the question, indicating that he truly did not know its significance. "I'm not sure, my Lord. I assume it was because we were furthest away from the explosion." he said, his fear rising a notch as he realised how his master would view that.

"Rather suggestive, don't you think, Lucius, after you swore to be at my side the instant you had any news of my existence?" Voldemort stated quietly.

"My Lord! It was unintentional", he started, fear starting to break through to his face.

"However," said Voldemort, cutting him off, "I will dismiss that as happenstance, if you can explain how grown wizards just happened to let a teenage boy escape their clutches. Especially after the boy just recovered from being caught in the centre of an intense backlash that they were fortunate enough to avoid."

Malfoy started to panic now, knowing that there was no excuse that would be acceptable to Voldemort. "My Lord, the backlash did drain me though it did not knock me out. Potter appeared to have largely recovered from it. I can offer no explanation for it, my Lord."

"Liar" Voldemort hissed, "I'm fully aware that your magic was almost unaffected by the blast. You have disappointed me, Lucius, and at such a simple task." The next minute was filled with Malfoy's screams. Voldemort waited until Malfoy's twitching reduced enough to indicate his coherence and said warningly "Be grateful that I still find a use for you Lucius. You will start making up for your failures by destabilising the Ministry. Start convincing that fool Fudge that Dumbledore is his enemy. Potter may cause us an enormous setback if he talks about my rebirth. I know for a fact that he is the type who wallows in his guilt and is ashamed to relate painful experiences to his friends. Even if he talks, I want the Daily Prophet on our side. Discredit Potter. I trust that you are financially and politically capable of these simple tasks?"

Malfoy mumbled, with some difficulty, "Of course, my Lord. I'm glad to be of use. Consider it done."

"Do not disappoint me in this, Lucius, or I may have to look to others to replace your support to Lord Voldemort." said Voldemort. Malfoy's fear evolved into delicious dread at the threat of his own death and he scrambled out on Voldemort's dismissal.

Voldemort sat silently for a minute, breathing in Malfoy's lingering emotions. Fully refreshed, he then reviewed the second-hand memory of Pettigrew's. There was a curious change in Potter after he had awoken. Voldemort could see it in the way Potter moved. His hesitancy and fright at the presence of numerous Death Eaters, that Voldemort saw in his eyes when they arrived, had been replaced by steadfast action.

What was it about the boy that had enabled him to thwart me thrice, Voldemort wondered? The first time, it had nothing to do with Potter himself; it was his mother's sacrifice that had undone his Killing Curse. Voldemort knew that many mothers had sacrificed themselves to try and save their children. However, he knew exactly why such love based magic worked effectively on him and him alone. Seeing no reason to love or trust others, he had undergone many transformations to give up those capabilities, in exchange for the ability to thrive on the emotion of fear in its various forms.

It was a consequence I should have foreseen, he reprimanded himself. However, he was sure that using Potter's blood had invoked in him some measure of resistance to such magic. He also knew the power of belief. He had gone to the Potters that night with the belief that the baby would be a powerful threat someday. It was possible that his magic might have acknowledged this and so made the rebounding curse capable of destroying much of his power, as he had believed it possible, even probable, in the moment his Curse failed.

Looking back, such an unusual perception of weakness, of doubt in his power, had been sparked by the prophecy. At that time, he foolishly felt fortunate at getting that titbit from Snape. Whatever else you are, Snape, you make a very good spy, thought the Dark Lord maliciously. But, he wondered, a very good spy for whom? It is possible that Dumbledore instructed or manipulated Snape into delivering an arranged prophecy to make me doubt myself, to stall my plans.

Snape's motives are already suspect, due to his absence from my rebirth. From what I have learnt, Snape could be of considerable use to me in his position as a Hogwarts professor. He was certainly intelligent enough to consider this. He also has enough cunning in him to obtain Dumbledore's 'permission' before approaching me. That is one explanation. However, Snape could also have turned under the old fool's influence, perhaps even before my fall on that fateful day. It is time for a little chat with Snape. Soon, I will decide whether his talents are really that essential in the light of his possible double-play.

x-x

Earlier that day, blissfully unaware of the beginning of such dark tidings, Harry Potter was enjoying his summer like any teenage boy. He had made a grand entrance into the Tonks residence by spectacularly crashing into Tonks, due to his early entry into the Floo and his usual fumbling exit. Her parents had come rushing in, fearing that Tonks had broken something in her clumsiness, to find her in a tangle of limbs with Harry Potter.

"I wasn't aware that you were seeing someone." quipped Tonks' mother playfully, well aware of the situation, causing Harry's face and Tonks' hair to shift to tomato red. After the two had been completely separated with the help of both parents, Harry found himself joining the Tonks for lunch.

Harry already knew that the Dursleys' standards were far from the 'normal' that they idolised. Still, he couldn't help feel a pang at the cheer, the casual glances between Tonks' parents (Andromeda and Ted Tonks, Harry had just learnt) and the general lightness of the atmosphere.

Still unsure whether he could ask for a second helping of the delicious pot roast and thinking that they may be offended if he ate too little, Harry hesitantly reached for the dish and the same time Tonks saw his empty plate and tried to serve him, causing the dish to be knocked over the table edge. Harry thought he hadn't been this embarrassed even when Fleur Delacour kissed him in front of the whole school.

Further highlighting their difference from his 'family', Ted grinned ruefully and commented, while Andromeda repaired the dish and vanished the mess with a swish of her wand, "Perhaps you two should start going out. You seem to be made for each other."

Tonks groaned at her father's persistent match-making while Harry forced down a blush and commented, hopefully in a casual tone, "I thought that the girl's father was supposed to be overbearing and in general, try his best to scare the guy off?"

At this, Andromeda laughed and said "If she'd bought someone she was indeed seeing, that would have been my role. Ted would most likely be busy trying male bonding with whoever it was."

As the lunch progressed, Harry found the Tonks family refreshingly open and casual about everything. They treated Harry like any other friend of the family, without drowning in his fame. Harry found himself opening up and talking about random things. "You look like someone I've seen before, but I just can't place who." Harry commented to Andromeda at a lull in the conversation.

For the first time, looking slightly nervous and upset, she replied "I hope you haven't personally met her, because I bear a close resemblance to one of my sisters, Bellatrix Black, now Lestrange."

Harry suddenly remembered the memory of Barty Crouch Junior's trial and realised the reason for her reaction. "Oh I'm sorry to mention about that. Tonks told me about the notorious reputation of the Blacks. Now that you mention her, I recognise the resemblance."

Andromeda merely nodded, reluctant to bring up her murky family, but Ted saw this as a chance to get his wife to open up toward the road to acceptance. "It's alright Meda, Bellatrix Lestrange isn't your responsibility. Where did you see her Harry? Last I heard, she was chucked into Azkaban when you were just a baby and I assume nobody who had any of her photos would have been willing to share them, or anything else, with you."

Tonks jumped in before Harry could answer, "Oh you don't know Harry; he somehow finds himself in life-threatening situations every now and then." At her parents' worried looks, she added "and he somehow manages to escape unhurt too."

"Oh this is nothing like that, don't worry. I just saw Professor Dumbledore's memory of her trial. I think I'll meet her soon, considering that I'm Voldemort's prime target. Anything I should tell her from you?" Harry asked playfully.

Andromeda sighed sadly and said "Oh, I know how she's turned out and Narcissa is almost as bad, what with her beliefs in purity of blood. I doubt I'd have anything to say to either of them, they'd probably try to kill me if we meet."

Tonks, who didn't like the way the conversation was going, elbowed Harry and asked "So what do you think of us now Harry, now that you know we're related to Draco Malfoy?"

Harry took the hint and replied "Oh, you guys are nothing like that prat and his family. I had the misfortune of meeting them at the Quidditch World Cup. Besides, I wouldn't judge anyone like that; look at the Dursleys, my so-called family!"

After that, Harry and the Tonks family had a most enjoyable time insulting each other's relatives in fun and imaginative ways. They found it cathartic.

Later, Andromeda and Ted left to attend to some business, leaving Harry and Tonks to talk. Tonks immediately claimed the sofa and swept some paper and parchment off to put her feet up and settled in, claiming lazily "Ooooh, I'm too stuffed to try out your Firebolt today. So Harry, you seem genuinely uninterested in flirting with me. Got your eye on someone else, have you? Is it Hermione? Come on, I can keep a secret! I'll even give you advice if you want." She turned to him, her eyes gleaming with a light Harry had come, from watching Parvati and Lavender, to associate with gossip.

Harry replied, "No there's nothing like that. She's like a sister to me. That reminds me, I have to send her this letter. May I borrow your owl?"

She said "Oh ok. I don't have one, but I can give it to her tomorrow, if you'd like? I promise not to open it."

Harry handed it to her and said "Sure, no problem. Why are you going to see Hermione, anyway? Oh wait let me guess, you are setting up a Floo for her house too?"

Tonks adopted an extremely offended look and said "What do you think I am, a construction worker? I'm an Auror, and when you apply, I'll make you work your ass off for this!" She then ruined the performance by giggling and said, "Unfortunately, you're right. By the way, you're not supposed to know this, strictly speaking, but the Order is planning to shift you to headquarters, and Hermione and the Weasleys will be shifted over the next couple of days. Before you ask, Dumbledore thinks you ought to stay with your relatives for another week to recharge the blood wards on your house."

"Damn it! My birthday's this week, I wanted to celebrate it with my friends and I'm certainly not inviting anyone over to my house." Harry grumbled.

Tonks merely ruffled his hair and said, "Poor Harry! I'll get you a nice present. I already knew that your birthday is on the 31st of July, by the way. It's general knowledge in the Wizarding world. Maybe you could come over, but no, that won't work. You can't use your Floo. Nobody will be watching your end, but for safety, as little people should know about the Floo at your house as possible. Sigh, I'll have to get you a really nice present."

"You don't have to, you know, we just met!" said Harry, though he was feeling a little grateful at having made such a good friend, an Auror at that.

"Come off it, Harry, I feel like I know you already. Except which girl you've got your eye on. Come on, spill!" Tonks prodded.

Harry said regretfully, "No one, yet. I know that Ginny Weasley likes me but she's almost like a fan girl and I don't want that. Don't tell anyone, but I think Ron and Hermione like each other. I just know it, but I don't think they've realised it yet. I just feel out of sync with everyone, what with Voldemort after me and all! I don't want to put anyone in danger by becoming close to them. They killed Cedric just because he was standing next to me."

Tonks immediately slipped into elder-sister mode. "Harry, that's a noble sentiment, but you must realise that you shouldn't put your life on hold just because some madman is after you. If you do that, you're letting him win."

Harry replied, somewhat angrily, "This isn't a game, Tonks. I've seen how Voldemort and his Death Eaters are. They wouldn't hesitate to use her, whoever she is. I've even thought about distancing myself from Ron and Hermione. I'll do anything to keep my friends safe."

Tonks said gently "But you didn't push me away, Harry. I know you don't want to put me in any danger either, so why did you do it? You do realise that you need people like everyone else. You won't be happy if you push everyone away out of paranoia. I've seen it in person in my mentor, Mad-Eye Moody. I'm basically the only person he's somewhat nice to and even I have to prove I'm me every time I meet him. Trust me; you don't want to live like that."

Harry nodded reluctantly and said "Hang on, you knew Mad-Eye Moody? Didn't you suspect anything last year then?"

Tonks said "Oh, he isn't the type to keep in touch, send letters, or any of that stuff. He'd have a quiet word if he saw me in the Ministry, that's all. That Barty Crouch impersonated him too well. Found out everything by putting Mad-Eye under the Imperious, didn't he? I'm somewhat glad that he's been kissed, though it's the thing that lets Fudge keep on believing that you and Dumbledore are lying."

"What?" yelped Harry "he still doesn't trust Dumbledore's word?"

Tonks nodded sadly "I suspect that he's in shock. I always knew he wouldn't make a good war-time Minister. He'll no doubt come to his senses soon. Unfortunately, we can't openly oppose the Ministry standing as it will give corrupt politicians like Malfoy a chance to deem us as illegal and have us arrested. Besides, we must keep our existence a secret."

"Oh, but I have no doubt that Malfoy will have instructions from Voldemort to keep Fudge in denial and make him oppose Dumbledore as long as possible." Harry said bitterly.

Tonks looked surprised at his depth of thought and said "You know what? You'd make a good Order member already. You seem to know how Voldemort thinks, probably from facing him so many times."

Harry shook his head and said "That's not it, it's because -" and stopped. "Look, Tonks, I trust you, somewhat, but I don't know if I should tell you this."

Tonks shrugged and said "Hey, I'm an Auror remember? I'm also an Order member. I know the importance of war secrets. But do tell me the regular gossip stuff, ok?"

Harry laughed and said "Hey, if I get a girlfriend, you'll be the first to know, all right?"

Tonks grinned and said "I'll hold you to that!"

x-x

Later that night, Harry thought back and felt good about how the day went. I'm glad to spend a day like a normal guy, for once, he thought. I do have lots of information about the Order, though I don't think Tonks would have told just anyone all that. I can see the look on Sirius' face now, he thought, when he finds out I know all this before he could impress me with it! Harry grinned, picturing Sirius' look of dropping disappointment at a failed chance to show off. Harry thought of writing to him, asking how he was and stuff, but Tonks had told him it's best to wait a week as he was going to stay with him anyway. Harry had, after some convincing, agreed and was regretting that right now.

After a long talk with Tonks, neither of them had felt like going out to roam the neighbourhood. Besides, Tonks had decided that they had pushed their luck far enough and came back with Harry to his room. After checking the spells on the fireplace once and finding nothing wrong, she told Harry that he had until midnight to show the Dursleys the fireplace and left after giving Harry a hug. It had made him tingle all over in a strange way though he could tell that she felt nothing of the sort. He could think of nothing but the feel of it for the next few minutes. He had never felt this when Hermione hugged him.

That evening, dinner with the Dursleys was awkward in a completely new fashion. For the first time, the Dursleys had allowed magic into their home willingly and although it was for a completely selfish reason, Petunia and Vernon found it hard to hate Harry for his magic just then. They were in no way close to liking him and Petunia was completely silent, thinking up new reasons to hate her nephew.

Vernon, on the other hand, was behaving as though he had, by allowing the Floo to be set up, done a great thing for a noble cause and Harry could tell that he expected him to be grateful and eager to please. Harry, however, was having none of that and tried to ignore their presence as much as possible, instead of the other way around.

Dudley seemed to have decided that nothing had changed and Harry thought it was probably true for him. Dudley treated Harry the way he did because that's how his parents had treated Harry from the earliest he could remember. He had never really sat down and thought out reasons for his behaviour; it was simply the way things were. Harry wondered what would happen if Dudley's parents started to treat Harry differently. Would Dudley mimic them, or would he be set in his ways and refuse to change?

Harry ate slowly to make time with Dudley's and Vernon's huge appetite. Once they were done, Petunia helped Harry put the plates and dishes away. Harry found it strange that she tried to share her domain, the kitchen, with him. He suddenly thought of how it would feel if he was putting the dishes away with his mother, and found the gesture bizarrely familial.

They went back to the dining room and Harry nodded towards his bedroom. Grumbling under his breath, Vernon got up and went to stand next to his wife. Dudley heaved his great bottom off the chair and stood behind his parents. Harry led them up the stairs and it felt to him as though he was taking them on a tour of the pope's grave, the situation was so solemn and formal.

Petunia and Vernon simply looked at the fireplace and got out of the room, somehow knowing that it was enough. Petunia shot a worried glance at Dudley as though fire was suddenly going to erupt and swallow him whole. Dudley gaped at the fireplace that was not there this morning and said "I didn't see a chimney. How can there be a fireplace without a chimney? And where's the wood?"

When Harry replied "Magic", he shook his head and retreated, muttering "Freaks" at which Vernon shot him an approving glance. Petunia looked highly relieved that her son had survived his encounter with magic, making Harry wonder why she was so paranoid about it.

Harry had had enough of their disapproval and decided to go to sleep and forget that the whole thing had happened. His plans were put off when Hedwig flew in very fast and landed on her perch with an annoyed hoot. For a second, Harry had a ridiculous thought that she was being tracked, before the cause of her annoyance shot in after her and collided with the opposite wall. Apparently, that wasn't enough to dampen Pig's spirit and he flew around dazedly for a minute before Harry took pity on him and snatched him out of the air.

Hedwig, who had been observing this, decided that Pig had been sufficiently disgraced for daring to annoy her and begrudgingly allowed Harry to settle Pig on her perch and feed him some water from her bowl before removing Ron's reply from his leg.

_Dear Harry, _the letter read,

_I told dad you'd receive this too late to be of any use, but Dad wanted to tell you anyway that someone called Nymphadora Tonks (funny name, I know) is coming to set up the Floo this afternoon. I hope you got the same person. I thought about sending this with Hedwig, but frankly, Pig was annoying everyone with his zooming around and mum decided that he needed some exercise._

_Anyway, from the teen front, we think it's great that you want to visit when possible. Ginny's thrilled that you can come visit easily and Gred and Forge wanted me to tell you that they wanted to talk to you about something. Wouldn't tell me what, the pricks, I think they told me that just to annoy me. Or, it could have something to do with the fact that the number of explosions from their room has increased a lot this summer, though I don't know what you'd have to do with it._

_Other than that, Dumbledore visited today and spoke to mum and dad. I think it has something to do with his group that we saw at the hospital wing that night. Things have started moving, haven't they? Everyone wants to know how you're doing, so I don't think even mum and dad would mind if you visited, though they feel it's unsafe. Dad was just telling mum that the wards were getting shoddy and I expect that Bill will be visiting to look them over._

___Hope you're feeling okay. I just want to say, don't blame yourself mate. Come visit soon._

_Yours,_

_Ron_

Fred and George probably want to show me the stuff they've developed with the galleons I gave them, Harry thought. I wonder what Ron will think if he finds out. He's being a lot more mature these days, after the Third Task. I only wish they all could be safe from the war, safe from me and the danger I present. But Tonks is right, mum and dad were right, I do need my friends, to keep sane, to keep from going mad with guilt and worry.

I can probably go see them anytime, thought Harry, as Tonks had told him she was going to offer to guard him for the next week and it'd mostly be approved as the Order was hard pressed for people to spare at the moment. She'd probably insist on accompanying me, mused Harry with an evil grin. I can't wait to see Ron try to tease her about her name. Those boils had itched like crazy, but Tonks had said they'd go down by the following morning after she'd refused to perform the counter-jinx. Harry had begged her in seven different ways and praised her beauty for fifteen minutes before she relented and removed them.

Harry felt too sleepy to reply to the letter immediately. Pig probably needs to recover too, he thought ruefully. He decided to reply the next morning, or maybe even visit if Tonks was the one assigned to guard him.

Sometime after Harry had gone to sleep, across the English Channel, a beautiful bird that looked like an eagle with a sharp, cruel beak, but with wings that looked more scaly than feathery, had a scented letter addressed to Harry tied to its gleaming talons and launched itself out of a stately window with the fluid motion that comes from being a top predator.

x-x

AN: A minor cliff-hanger, though I'm sure you can guess who the letter is from. Harry's next week is going to be the start of some major changes in his life. I intend to keep Tonks as Harry's close friend and sort of mentor into the ways of adult life (not the physical part, as far as I've planned), some of which they learn together and some that one teaches another. It's something different, rather than the usual Dumbledore / Snape / Voldemort mentors and I hope to portray it well. I hope you liked this chapter.


	4. Chapter 04: The French Connection

Chapter 4 – The French Connection

AN: There's a minor edition in the previous chapter. One of my reviewers, **Fury074** pointed out that Ted Tonks is a muggleborn wizard, not a muggle. It was implied via conversation in the last chapter and I modified the conversation. There's also a minor edit in the second chapter where Tonks says her mum married a muggle. It's not a big change and doesn't affect the plot in any way, but anyone who wants can read the last chapter and find out. Meanwhile, here's the fourth chapter. Enjoy. In case anyone forgot, I don't own the Harry Potter universe, though I hate to remind people of it. :P

x-x

The next morning dawned bright and early for Harry Potter, who was feeling giddy with the prospect of hopping over to The Burrow. He hoped with all his heart that Tonks was the one assigned to guard him. Harry was never one to sit around waiting for things to happen, so he decided to freshen up and go help his aunt with breakfast. He was well aware that nothing could force him to do chores for the Dursleys anymore. However, he had come to enjoy cooking. Due to the huge and varied appetites of Vernon and Dudley, Harry had become quite proficient at cooking a variety of meats, pies and salads.

He went down to the kitchen to find that his aunt had just started cutting up beans for today's breakfast. Over the years, Petunia had come to appreciate Harry's (purely non-magical, of course) talent in the kitchen and for once, did not look at him as something disgusting that had slithered into her kitchen.

After the 'men' of the house had thoroughly demolished the breakfast of roasted pork and baked beans, offering their compliments to Petunia and Petunia alone, Harry went outside to wait for Tonks to show up, knowing that she was a late riser.

Just as he was starting to rue Tonks and her laziness, he heard the tell-tale crack of apparition behind the shed. To his horror, however, the bat-like countenance of his 'favourite' Potions master fluttered silently into his view, with an extremely unpleasant look on his face, due no doubt to the fact that Dumbledore had dared to ask him to babysit the Brat-Who-Lived.

Catching sight of Harry waiting patiently in the yard, his face acquired his usual sneer and he hissed "I should have known you'd be stupid enough to wait in plain view like an adoring puppy, Potter. Get back inside before some Death Eater catches sight of you."

"I believe one already has, Professor." spat Harry. No one was going to force him to be respectable to Snape today, as there were no points to be deducted and no detentions to be doled out.

However, Snape wasn't one to anger easily. "Surprisingly smart of you, Potter, but I trust that it got through to your thick head that I asked you to get back inside. However, I suppose I shouldn't have expected you to obey rules during vacation, as you consider yourself above them in Hogwarts itself."

"Where's Tonks? She was supposed to be here today, has something happened to her?" asked Harry, for a moment forgetting his hatred of Snape as it was replaced with worry for Tonks.

"Auror _Nymphadora _Tonks," elicited Snape with a look of disgust on his face "has other duties to perform today for the Order. You shouldn't expect the Order to pander to your wishes, Potter."

Harry, however, started laughing "Oh, you almost had me, Tonks. One more insult and I would have been convinced. However, you went too far trying to utter your first name. Besides, Snape would never deign to correct my language unless it was to deduct points from Gryffindor, nor would he bother giving me any information he didn't have to. I realised that fact from his Potions lessons long ago. You should have acted pleased at my disappointment and tried to rub my face in it."

Tonks reverted to her normal heart-shaped face, though today she had opted for bright pink hair and dazzling green eyes, and got a look of extreme chagrin on her face. Harry continued "Also, you didn't insult my dead father even once. I don't think Snape can sleep at night if he spends a moment in my presence without insulting my father. It's so pathetic; he should just get over the fact that my father saved his sorry behind once, even if he is incapable of feeling grateful for it, as far as I am aware."

Tonks, however, had a warning look on her face and Harry realised its purpose as he was felt a familiar presence behind him. He whirled around and saw the real Snape with a rare look of amusement on his face. Harry felt relieved that he didn't seem angry.

"Do not presume to know me, Potter!" He spat, with a sudden look of loathing Harry recognised instantly. He then sneered at Tonks and said "You were foolish to reveal yourself at the first sign of doubt. How low the Auror standards have fallen nowadays! A metamorphmagus who cannot even impersonate someone in her team is not fit to be an Auror, in my opinion. You owe me twenty galleons."

Harry had a sudden desire to provoke Snape for insulting his friend. "Oh, but I know that I was right in what I said Snape! I only recognised her disguise because I have been exposed to your childish grudges and caustic behaviour for much longer than she has."

Snape ignored Tonks' presence and turned fully to face Harry "Once again, you demonstrate your arrogance, Potter, just like your fool of a father! I merely do my part to deflate your enormous ego, as Dumbledore and the rest of your fans are too star-struck to do so." he hissed, showing the first signs of anger.

Harry laughed in his face and replied "You just proved me right! Why must you go out of your way to drag my father into everything? I haven't even had the time with him for his influence to rub off on me! If you ever start seeing me as separate from my father, I'll think about respecting you as a person. Sirius is right; you are just jealously trying to insult my father's memory because he was a better person than you!"

Tonks saw that both of them were close to losing control and tried to calm them down as she didn't want curses to start flying, but it was as though she didn't exist. Both of them simply ignored her and continued to insult each other.

Snape looked as though he was close to cursing Harry. He held tightly onto his anger and said "I have far more important things to aspire to than your respect, Potter. I am doing my best to end this war while you are here on your backside too scared to show your face. I must say, you do take a lot after your dear Godfather. I daresay he has been around you enough for his cowardice to rub off on you!"

Harry saw red and shouted "Neither Sirius nor I would ever hesitate to face Voldemort, Snape, while you would no doubt be too busy dancing on the tightrope between Dumbledore and Voldemort, trying to save your skin!"

He seemed to have touched a nerve, for Snape shouted back "All you fools would achieve is a messy death, while I risk my life without even raising my wand so that your precious friends can live safely, without fear of being ambushed in the night. However, being the foolish Gryffindor that you are, I do not expect you to understand the danger and courage of my position."

"Don't talk to me about courage, Snape!" hissed Harry, holding in an intense need to fly at Snape "You have had a long life to make your choices and you choose to serve in the middle because neither side will accept you fully into their midst! I, however, have been forced to face unknown dangers year after year while all I wanted was friends and a family! I wonder how you would have acted if you had to choose between light and dark when you were a teenager? Do you think Voldemort has not offered me a chance to serve him? He did that when I was eleven! I, however, was courageous enough to choose what is right, instead of siding with him and killing and torturing innocents out of fear, as I'm sure you have done! Why do you pretend to serve the light now, Snape? I don't think you ever loved anyone for Voldemort to kill!"

At last, Snape lost control and fired a stinging hex at Harry, causing him to gasp in pain and clutch his left wrist, a gesture that was strangely mirrored by Snape himself. He, however, appeared to have calmed down in an instant and he spoke, with the air of a man who had decided to throw caution to the wind "You have the correct answer for once, Potter. I did and I do still love a woman, and Voldemort did kill her despite my begging him on my knees not to. That is why I serve the light now. I did freely kill and torture, not even out of fear, before that. Now, I know I belong on the side of the light, even though, as you said, the light won't wholeheartedly accept me."

Harry (and indeed even Tonks) was stunned into shock. Snape calmly continued "Now if you'll excuse me, Potter, I have duties to perform." He clutched his wrist harder as it burned more fiercely at his delay. "Just as I convinced you of being on the light side, I now have to convince him that I'm dark. You can decide for yourself what to believe. Voldemort is the one who knows no love, I'm sure he'll find it easy to believe that I'm dark."

"Better go now, Professor. I know he doesn't like to be kept waiting. I- I wish you the best of luck." Snape looked surprised for a second and Harry wasn't sure whether it was in response to his knowledge or his reaction. Snape then nodded in a resigned fashion and then, reigning in his emotions completely, Disapparated to meet the Dark Lord.

x-x

Harry and Tonks went inside the house, still subdued at Snape's shocking revelation. Neither of them knew what to think and they didn't even notice the Dursleys staring at them, half in anger at their presence and half in fear at the confrontation that had happened outside.

Had Harry looked at his aunt Petunia, however, he would have found her looking pale, for she alone had understood exactly who Snape was talking about, having eavesdropped on the conversation. She alone could understand Snape's hatred of Harry, as she too had lost her sister Lily a man she was reminded of every time she looked at Harry. Petunia still blamed James Potter and his world of magic for taking her sister away, who was once her closest confidant, and worse, for being the cause of her death.

Harry had decided to go straight to The Burrow, as he needed to lift his spirits, when an owl he recognised from three years ago dropped an official-looking letter on his lap and flew out the way it had come. Harry groaned, knowing exactly what was in the letter, but Tonks was puzzled at why Harry was receiving a letter from the Ministry.

Seeing her curiosity, Harry nodded at her to open it, and lay back resignedly on his bed to listen as Tonks read the contents out loud.

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_We have received intelligence that a Stinging Hex was used at your place of residence at approximately seventeen minutes past ten._

_As you have previously been warned against using magic during the summer, you are hereby directed to attend a hearing with the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones, where an appropriate sentence will be decided for your repeated offense._

_The disciplinary hearing has been scheduled on July 31 at eleven am at the personal office of Ms Bones. Failure to attend the hearing will automatically result in the maximum sentence, which is summary expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the snapping of your wand, along with a hundred galleon fine._

_Enjoy the holidays!_

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Mafalda Hopkirk_

_IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE_

_Ministry of Magic_

On finishing the letter, Tonks shouted indignantly "But it was Snape who performed the hex and he is an overage wizard! I don't know how the Ministry knows and why it is blaming you."

Harry sighed and said "They did the same thing when Dobby, a house elf, performed a Hovering Charm in here three years ago. I think it's something to do with the fact that I'm the only registered magical being in this area. Any magic performed near Privet Drive is blamed on me. You're an Auror! Don't tell me you didn't know that!" he finished with a laugh.

"Hey! I'm still learning all these stupid laws and how they work! My training is officially over but they won't be letting me lead missions anytime soon. My own leader is Kingsley Shacklebolt and he's a part of the Order. That's how I got into it in the first place and that's how I have the time to guard you." Tonks said defensively.

Harry was always interested in the workings of the Auror Department. Damn, he thought, Tonks certainly knew how to change the topic. "So, I might be working under you in a few years, eh?" he said suggestively, wagging his eyebrows for emphasis "You better be up to shape by then!"

Tonks winked and said, in an idolizing squeal "Oh I'd love to start office rumours with Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, dashing hero, playwizard extraordinaire", making Harry snigger uncontrollably. "Getting back to serious issues, we'd better visit the Weasleys now. I need to report this to someone. Come to think of it, that's a good excuse to bring you along."

Agreeing, Harry stepped through the Floo after Tonks and they found themselves in The Burrow's kitchen. Mrs Weasley was present and on noticing Tonks, she yelled "Arthur! Come to the kitchen, Tonks is here!" She then noticed Harry and added in alarm "Harry's here too! Come quickly!" She obviously thought that it was an emergency. When she could notice nothing wrong with either of them, she pulled Harry into the customary hug he had named in his mind 'The Lung Crusher'. He felt that weird spark for a second before his ribs started protesting. She let go of him and said "It's good to see you, Harry dear, we were so worried." The kitchen doorway was suddenly crowded as Ron, the twins and Ginny tried to get in at the same time. After they squeezed themselves inside, Hermione came in shaking her head at their antics, followed finally by Mr Weasley.

Arthur started in a calm voice "I told you Molly, Harry probably wanted to visit. He can't be in trouble -" and was interrupted with greetings from all the Weasley children. Harry once again felt a shock when Ginny and Hermione hugged him and wondered if there was something wrong with him.

Tonks winked at Harry and said "Actually, he is in trouble. He got this letter from the Ministry just now for using magic." At this, Ron and Hermione groaned while Ginny looked worried. The twins tried their earnest to hide their identical approving grins from their mother.

Arthur asked for the letter to peruse in detail the charges. Molly fixed Harry with a reproving eye and asked "What happened, Harry?" Harry and Tonks shot each other a look and made a silent pact not to bring up Snape's name.

Harry started in a long suffering voice "Well, I was teasing old Tonksie here" and glanced at the latter, who started giggling. Harry ignored the curious looks from all the women present and continued in the same tone "I just called her Nymphadora-" Tonks shut up at once "when this _hag _-" here, Tonks helpfully turned into a brown-teethed, cross-eyed, wart-nosed hag with dirty brown hair and misshapen proportions, causing Hermione, Ron and Ginny to gasp and the twins to wolf-whistle "threw a Stinging Hex at me. Apparently, Auror Tonks was unaware of the workings of the underage magic detection spells at the Ministry till I explained it to her."

Tonks threw him a dirty look that was menacing in her current form while Mr and Mrs Weasley looked disappointed at her. She turned back to normal and started searching her pockets while loudly addressing Hermione "Speaking of letters, Hermione, you were out having lunch with your parents when I came around to put up the Floo connection and shorty here gave me a letter he wanted to send you. Here, he says he loves you and wants to go out or something like that. I told the idiot that such things should be said in person!"

Harry got up in a flash, angrily exclaimed "I told you not to open that letter Tonks! Damn it, can't you keep your shape-changing nose out of my business?" and stormed out into the garden without looking at anybody. Harry was hoping his shaking was interpreted as anger rather than a result of trying to hold in his laughter. Harry had discussed ways with Tonks to subtly point Ron and Hermione at each other, but he was coming to realise that subtleness was not in Tonks' repertoire.

Of all people, Ginny was the come who came out to console him. She started in a soothing tone, trying to hold back tears that threatened to overwhelm her "It's ok Harry, it may still work out. You've known each other a long time. I'm sure Hermione will understand that you felt too nervous about telling her in person."

Oh Merlin, no, thought Harry. He quickly cut her off saying "Please stop Ginny. Tonks was only getting back at me for pointing out her ignorance."

Ginny looked confused and asked in a suspiciously hopeful voice "But then, why did you go along with her?" and was interrupted by an exasperated shout from Hermione, who it seemed had at last worked up the courage to open Harry's letter. It was quickly followed by uproarious laughter from the twins and chuckles from the Weasley parents. Harry was pleased to note that Ron hadn't made a sound.

Mission accomplished, he thought and suddenly got an idea for sweet payback. "Well, Ginny, I just wanted to get out of there. Tonks knows how much I fancy her and she didn't want to go out with a younger man. I can try and cope with that, but here she is ridiculously trying to match me up with someone else as though she is offering me a consolation prize! I can't deal with her belittling my feelings just because she can't return them!"

Harry suddenly felt bad for crushing Ginny's feelings for him. He knew that he would have just ignored Ginny, had this happened last year. However Harry decided that she needed to first be his friend. That way, she might at least have a chance later. Driving a final nail in the coffin, Harry asked "Could you talk to her, Ginny? Make her understand? I think girls are better at this sort of thing. I would try myself, but she'll just try to make me deny my feelings, I just know it."

Harry knew that Tonks would understand the deeper reasons behind this and hopefully, she'd make Ginny see what kind of person Harry was and how not to act around him. After she had been sufficiently embarrassed, Harry hoped.

Harry went back inside with Ginny and was immediately pounced on by Hermione, who started punching every inch of him she could for embarrassing her like that. She suddenly hugged him tightly, sending shivers through him again, and whispered in his ear "I'm glad you're feeling happy enough to play pranks on me Harry. I trust that you're not feeling too down about, um, things?"

Harry whispered back "Yeah, I guess I am. Thanks for the letter, by the way. It would have helped me, had I not already gotten over that night." He discreetly glanced at Ron, who was staring at the two of them hugging as though unsure whether to laugh with Harry or thrash him. "Ron's getting jealous." He whispered and leaned back from Hermione. Grinning at her faint blush, Harry asked "So do you think you can find such a spell, Hermione?"

Hermione smiled and said "Oh you're so stupid sometimes, Harry. You already know a way to remove memories from your head, what more do you want?"

At the kitchen table, Molly and Arthur exchanged a glance. They were glad to see that Harry was dealing with the events of his last year at Hogwarts. Tonks caught the look and waved cheerily at them, letting them know she was, at least in part, responsible for it. Arthur then nodded at her, thinking that it was a stroke of luck that Tonks was the one assigned to guard Harry. No one could resist her carefree nature. She was like the twins that way.

While Molly was accepting Ginny's, Hermione's and Tonks' (the latter's quite reluctantly) help in setting up the table for lunch, Fred and George pulled Harry into a corner while Ron was trying to inconspicuously stay close to Hermione.

"Quite a good performance back there, my dear chap!" said Fred. "Yes, yes, splendid, absolutely spiffing, Harry, my boy!" added George.

"Thank you guys, you two are my inspiration into all things mischievous. I understand that you wanted to show me some stuff we're developing."

"What a sharp partner we have here!" said George, looking Harry up and down as though seeing him in a completely new light.

"That stuff can wait, Harry" continued Fred "it's quite risky with mum around. What we really wanted to talk to you about is that we are looking to buy premises in Diagon Alley if our marketing research goes well at Hogwarts this year. We don't really need the NEWTs as we feel that our future lies outside the realm of exams."

"I know that you guys are quite capable of managing it yourselves. You don't need my help." Harry said. Getting twin nods, he continued "So, you two want to know if you can use my name if it can help, isn't that right?" The twins nodded again, this time a bit warily, as they knew all too well how much Harry hated his fame.

"I'll make a deal with you. I'll even come with you under my Invisibility Cloak if you can schedule a talk on a day that I can get away alone, like a Hogsmeade weekend. However, there are some conditions. Remember, we are in a war. I want you to be very sure of the authenticity of the seller and his motives. Also, I want you to promise me to keep yourselves safe at all times. Ask for help with setting up wards from Bill or hire some goblins or something."

Impressed at his forethought, Fred said "I'm glad that you've thought this much about it. We have no problem with your conditions. We thought of some of that stuff ourselves, too. There is a bigger issue though. We may need your help convincing mum, when the time comes. She had a soft spot for you, as you might know yourself."

Harry spoke as earnestly as possible "Guys, rest assured, I believe in your talents, otherwise I wouldn't have given you those galleons. I'm sure Mrs Weasley will too, and I'll do my best to see that it happens. Honestly, I don't think she'll object too much once the profits start rolling in."

Fred chuckled and said "We know that she'll come around eventually, mate, but we may need to give her a push in the beginning. So Harry, you and Tonks seem to be pretty close? What's the deal here?"

Harry laughed, thinking that Tonks was going to rue the day she went up against Harry Potter "Noticed that, did you? Sorry, fellas, you'll have to find out the hard way; by waiting and watching." With a cheery wave, Harry went to sit next to Tonks at the table, which was protesting under Mrs Weasleys' excellent lunch.

When Harry and the twins joined the table, conversation turned to Harry's upcoming hearing. Tonks was telling Mr Weasley "I've never heard of an underage magic hearing being conducted by Amelia Bones, it's usually Mafalda Hopkirk herself who handles these things."

Hermione interrupted "It's obviously because it's Harry Potter's disciplinary hearing." she said, her disgust at the Ministry's politics clearly showing in her tone.

"Of course it is, Mione!" said Harry patiently "But the question is, is it because they like Harry Potter, or is it because they don't?"

Arthur agreed "Things are tense at the Ministry these days, Hermione. Fudge is still in denial about You-Know-Who's return. I would be very worried if it was anyone other than Amelia Bones conducting the hearing; she has a reputation for being very strict, but also for being completely fair."

Tonks chipped in "Yes, Harry, you needn't be worried about her. Just tell her you have no idea who did the spell and ask her to check your wand. That should get you off the hook as you didn't cast the spell yourself. Just be careful, she shouldn't know that you're in contact with the Order."

Harry exclaimed "She knows about the Order?" at the same time Molly shouted "You told Harry about the Order?"

Tonks winced and looked sheepish. Molly immediately got going "Harry's too young to know, Tonks. You shouldn't go around putting ideas in his head."

Harry decided that it was time to show a part of his new self to Mrs Weasley. He really couldn't afford her coddling him. "Mrs Weasley, that's up to me to decide. Voldemort is now back. I want to be prepared. Besides, why aren't you scolding me about wheedling information from Tonks?"

Molly looked unsure of herself "Harry, you're just a child. You shouldn't have to worry about the war. You should be worried about school!"

Harry cut her off "Please, Mrs Weasley, I have faced Voldemort more than anyone in the Order today, except maybe Professor Dumbledore. Knowing all this stuff about an organization my parents died for really helped me get over last year, Mrs Weasley." Harry knew that the sympathy card had worked when Mrs Weasley stopped arguing, her eyes getting a bit teary.

Arthur then started "Very well, Harry, knowing you, it's now pointless to keep the rest of them out of this." Harry looked around and saw that Ron, Ginny, Hermione and the twins were hanging on to every word. He nodded firmly. "Amelia Bones is one of the very few people Albus trusts in the Ministry. She knows of the Order's existence, though she doesn't know who's in it, other than Dumbledore and Moody. She probably suspects that some of her Aurors are in it. If it comes to it, you can tell her that the spell was cast by an Order member who was guarding you. No names though, she'll probably not expect you to know exactly who they are."

Harry agreed "That's decided then. But really, guys" he said, turning to the others who were still listening without a sound "I'm surprised that you don't know about the Order. You're all shifting to their Headquarters tomorrow!" They all turned to their parents with accusing eyes. Hermione, who probably knew about the shifting already and had dutifully kept it secret for safety, glared at Harry, who took a bow.

Mrs Weasley joined in to glare at Harry too "Really dear, you shouldn't brag! We were going to tell them tonight."

"But Mrs Weasley, this way is much more fun!" he wheedled and the twins were proved correct in their observation, as Mrs Weasley merely shook her head and smiled.

The conversation then turned to how Harry was dealing with his issues. "Thanks for your concern, Mr Weasley. I am getting past it. I realise that I did all I could and was lucky to escape alive myself." Harry paused. He didn't feel like telling anyone about the conversation with his parents. It felt too personal. He hadn't said anything about it even to Professor Dumbledore. Though he was considering sharing it with Sirius and Remus sometime. "Tonks was a big help, actually. She made me realise that I can't stop living my life because my friend lost his. To tell you the truth, I was planning to push everyone away to keep you all safe. She made me see that I need my friends."

Harry was happy to give credit to Tonks as she really had been a major factor in his speedy recovery. Mrs Weasley seemed ready to forgive Tonks for anything she had told Harry. Hermione commented "You are different now, Harry. You're much more confident and open. You wouldn't have said so much a month ago."

Harry grinned "I hope that was a compliment Hermione. Thank you. I really have decided to grow up and let go off the pointless guilt and do something about this war. I want to become an Auror. That's another area where Tonks has been a big help. Of course, I can't wait to talk to Sirius! He's sure to know lots more. No offense, Tonks, but you just started. If you see him, tell him I can't wait to talk to him. Also, tell him that it was on your suggestion that I haven't written him yet!"

Ron at last decided to join the conversation "What about Quidditch, Harry? You could make a good career out of it, you know!" Harry was glad he hadn't withdrawn too much from his earlier display. "I've thought about it Ron, but I just like flying and I can do that anytime, without a career. I want to be useful in this war. Voldemort isn't going to just give up on doing me in. I don't want to have to keep escaping every time we face each other."

Slowly, the conversation broke down. The twins started taking about their plans in whispers. Hermione and Ginny were discussing something that he probably didn't wanting to know, judging by their predatory expressions. Harry nudged Tonks and said out of the corner of his mouth "I really didn't want to play the Nymphadora card today. I was hoping that Ron would call you that. Wanted to see what you'd do."

Tonks commented "Wanted someone to share your humiliation, eh? Not going to happen now. I will not be called that just for your amusement. In fact, I'm thinking about hexing you every time anyone here calls me that." Harry shuddered, knowing that she'd do it.

"If you do that, Tonks, those much desired office rumours are not going to happen."

Tonks relented "All right, you win, this time."

x-x

The next day, Harry was bored out of his mind. Tonks had told him she was going to be busy the next week with Ministry stuff and she had no idea who was assigned to guard him. She did say, however, that they'd mostly take care not to be seen by Harry himself as he wasn't supposed to know that they were there.

He didn't have anywhere to go, as the Weasleys and Hermione were currently at the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix and Harry had no idea where it was. He was mechanically doing chores to keep his mind occupied. His short afternoon nap was interrupted when a dangerous looking bird came in through the window and perched expectantly on the edge of his bed.

Harry thought it looked somewhat like a magical eagle. Feeling cautious, he carefully removed the letter and the bird flew to perch next to the sleeping Hedwig, no doubt expecting a reply from him. He opened the letter and saw that it was from Apolline Delacour, of all people, who he guessed was Fleur's mother.

_Dear Mr Potter,_

_I hope to find you well. I heard what had happened after the third task from my daughter, Fleur. I was saddened to hear about the death of your friend and fellow champion Cedric Diggory. However, the presence of an unknown danger at Hogwarts forced me to take my family home before I could hear the complete explanation of the events from Fleur and offer the Diggorys my condolences. _

_Something significant has happened in my family, which we realised only a few days ago. It involves you and I thought it best to inform you about it as soon as possible._

_Unfortunately, it is of a delicate nature and I do not feel comfortable putting it in a letter. I will be coming to Gringotts with my daughters the coming week. Fleur intends to apply for a part-time job on the second of August and I hope we can meet in person at that time to discuss things. It may take a few hours to deal with the information to both our satisfactions._

_I must emphasise that it is really important for you to know the situation and I hope you can make it to Gringotts. Send your reply with Huntress, she can find me fastest._

_Yours,_

_Apolline Delacour_

Harry sat back in thought. Something had happened in her family that had to do with me? Had Voldemort threatened them? Why would he care about them? Why would he think that Harry would care about them? Then Harry remembered. Gabrielle! He had saved her in the lake. Had a life debt formed between him and Gabrielle? As far as Harry knew from his experiences with Ginny and more importantly, Wormtail, life debts were quite passive in nature. He himself had no control over their debts and he was sure that they didn't have any either. Maybe it was different with Veela. That had to be it. Something had happened and Gabrielle was reacting to the life debt between her and Harry.

Then it hit him. That strange shivers he'd been feeling, it had started a few days ago. Harry tried hard to recall everything he knew about Veela. He had asked Sirius about it after meeting Fleur for the first time. Sirius had told him that the Veela race was, like most magical races, older than the human race. He had told them that in the early days, Veela had been predators of men, enchanting and trapping their prey. After humans had evolved enough to converse with the Veela, the lifestyle of Veela had changed. They became more peaceful. They began to spend more and more time in their enchanting forms, causing the avian form to recede, becoming accessible only during times of extreme emotional stress.

He had asked about possible duels with Fleur, and Sirius had told him that they were extremely resistant to certain branches of magic, namely anything that affected their control. Anything from the Confounding Jinx to Veritaserum was weak against Veela. Even the Imperius curse had a good chance of failing against them if cast by a mediocre wizard.

Conversely, Veela themselves were exceptionally powerful at such magic, and generally could take control of any curse affecting their will.

Harry started to get an idea of the situation. It was probable that a life debt had formed between Harry and Gabrielle because of his saving her from the lake. It was also probable that her magic was wrestling to take control of the life-debt. However, life-debts were by their very nature profitable to the rescuer, in this case the one in power was Harry. There might be some unexpected consequence due to these opposing effects.

Harry started to write a reply. As Mrs Delacour was against discussing the issue, Harry decided not to mention his conclusions.

_Dear Mrs Delacour,_

_I would like to express my appreciation at your wish to inform me about the situation in your family. I also thank you for asking after my health and would like to assure you that I'm in good health in all senses of the word._

_I hope your family, especially Gabrielle, is in good health. I am of course free on the second of August, being on summer vacation. However, due to the state of affairs here originating from the very events surrounding the Third Task, I find it hard to travel without being noticed. I am sure that you wish me to meet you alone, but I may be obliged to bring a personal escort for my safety from malicious parties wishing me harm._

_I will try to meet you alone with my escort outside the location of our talk, once they find the security of the location satisfactory. In any case, I can assure you of their total discretion. If you are agreeable to this condition, I can meet you as per your request._

_If you have a change of plans, please feel free to contact me with the changes, though I cannot foresee a time in the near future where I can travel without an escort. I fully intend to take part in the circumstances in your family that I seem to have caused._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Harry Potter_

Looking over it once again, Harry didn't feel that he had committed any major social faux pas. His parents had given him a lot of things to learn from, but they hadn't had the time to instruct him on the proper way to write formal letters. He tied the letter to the unnaturally sharp talons of Huntress, who on closer look resembled the avian form of Veela to some degree. He watched as she took off in a single motion without the slightest sound and noticed her presence hadn't disturbed Hedwig at all. That could only be a good sign, decided Harry and went back to his nap, where his dreams were filled with open skies, magical eagles and enchanting Veela.

AN: I thought that the chapter title was appropriate as this is the one where Harry's journey with the Delacours truly begins. I apologise to anyone who was looking for Fleur's entry. That will come in the next chapter, or maybe the one after that. Since Sirius' profession was never mentioned in the books, I am making him an Auror in my story. Harry's hearing and Snape's meeting will be covered in the next chapter, both having far-reaching consequences, so you may have to wait till Chapter Six for the advertised ship to begin. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	5. Chapter 05: Trials of a Half Blood

Chapter 5 – Trials of a Half-Blood

AN: Before you go to the fifth chapter, in response to reviews for the last chapter, I'd like to ensure once again that this story isn't going to be one of the Veela soul bond stuff. If you want to know more, read and find out. :P The Harry Potter universe is an alternate reality that I'm not in control of, unfortunately. Enjoy the fifth chapter.

AN2: There's an edit in this chapter. One of my reviewers, **StPhoenix**, pointed out the the Marauder's Map was confiscated when Sirius was in school. I forgot that. :P So, the proof of Amelia's identity is that Sirius showed her the map while they were in Hogwarts, after losing a duel. I've changed the parts accordingly. I'm assuming their ages were close enough that they were at Hogwarts together, which is probable, considering that Susan Bones is in the same year as Harry.**  
**

As the next week drew inexorably towards his hearing, Harry couldn't help feel the butterflies of nervousness in his stomach. He'd tried to find out all he could about Madam Amelia Bones, Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement, even disregarding his earlier decision and flooding the Headquarters with letters to Sirius, Mr Weasley and even Professor Dumbledore.

Though everyone he had written to had done their best to assure him of Ms Bones' reputation of fairness, Harry felt sure that regardless of the wishes of one witch, the Ministry would try their best to use this chance to make him look as bad as possible. He thanked the heavens that no muggles had been involved, for Rita Skeeter would have loved a chance to portray Harry as a shallow Muggle-hater. Harry heard that she had been really annoyed at being refused access to him after Voldemort's rebirth.

The other thing worrying him was the news from the Delacours, but Harry resolved not to think about it till after his hearing. Instead, he spent the time he wasn't working around the house between thinking about possible questions the Ministry might ask him (Harry didn't trust them not to pry about anything they could) and wondering how Snape's meeting with Voldemort had went. He felt strange hoping that Snape hadn't been tortured too much.

x-x

Meanwhile, Albus Dumbledore was sitting behind the Headmaster's desk at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, pondering on the latest events to occur in young Harry Potter's life. Many a time, sitting behind this very desk, he had lamented his numerous failures at keeping Harry safe. Wise and powerful though he was, Dumbledore was finding it difficult to swallow the fact that this particular task was not one completely within his power to accomplish. He had had that proved to him year after year and could only console himself by believing in Harry's strength and his ability to deal with the harshest cards that life could throw at him.

He was feeling decidedly uneasy at leaving Harry at the mercy of the Ministry, on his birthday no less. He had expected Fudge to go overboard and demand a full-fledged trial under the Wizengamot, in which case he himself could have appeared on Harry's behalf. However, Fudge had merely contented himself with a slightly unusual hearing under Madam Bones. Albus Dumbledore could feel a hand smarter and more malicious than Fudge's behind this, as it prevented anyone from accompanying Harry to the hearing.

On the bright side of things, Albus felt heartened at Harry's behaviour so far, especially his budding friendship with Nymphadora Tonks. Harry had even requested that she be the one to guard him to the trial, citing that he felt comfortable around her. Albus had no problem assigning Tonks as his guard for the rest of the summer and had leaned on Kingsley to make her free for Order duty by the 31st of July. He had accepted that he could not shelter Harry for ever and now tried his to give Harry the best chance at happiness.

While Albus Dumbledore was occupied in such thoughts, his personal fireplace flared green and deposited Severus Snape into the Headmaster's chamber, revealing the immediate reason for Dumbledore's presence in his Chamber.

As usual, Severus had recuperated in the privacy of his home before reporting to him the fruits of his meeting with Tom. Departing from tradition, however, Severus immediately started pacing anxiously around the room, not looking around at Albus as he exclaimed "I can't help but feel nervous, Dumbledore! He didn't try to torture me even once! Something is different about the Dark Lord. After a long time, I truly felt like a child fumbling in the dirt before his supreme composure. And his power, Dumbledore! I could feel his presence throughout the manor! I have never felt this nervous around him since the day I begged for Lily's life!"

Albus Dumbledore hid his worry from his eyes and instructed "Calm yourself Severus! You are here, unhurt, with Voldemort no wiser about your true allegiance. Perhaps you could describe everything from the beginning?"

Severus responded by putting his wand to his temple. Understanding immediately, Albus rose to fetch his pensieve, giving Severus privacy to get his emotions under control. Severus prided himself on his aloofness and Dumbledore saw no reason to begrudge him this one small indulgence.

Together, they descended into Severus' memory. Surprisingly, it started not with a view of Riddle Manor, but with a view of Severus himself walking towards Harry Potter, who was waiting outside the door of No 4, Privet Drive. Dumbledore observed the ensuing confrontation without comment and was returned to his office afterwards.

Albus Dumbledore was the only wizard alive today whom Severus approached for advice and the former knew this very well. So, he patiently waited for Severus to breach the silence.

Severus started pacing again. Ha had always struggled with expressing the lighter emotions. "You know very well, Dumbledore, why I choose to serve the Light. You also know that I've never wanted anyone to acknowledge my reasons for doing so, including yourself."

Albus nodded encouragingly. Severus continued "I had known since the Yule Ball that the Dark Lord was going to return soon. However, nothing could prepare me for the actual event. The Dark Mark activated when he wished to summon us and I could immediately feel that it was different than before."

Albus remained silent. Severus had told him something like this on the night Tom had returned, though Albus had felt then that Severus had downplayed the effects. "You have known since I first came here of my fascination with the Dark Arts. It is a part of me and I do not want that to change, even now. It is the single reason I decided to follow the Dark Lord in the first place. I took the Mark willingly and studied it in secret as much as I could, simultaneously marvelling and despising the fact that there were very few spells I could perform on it without the Dark Lord becoming aware of the fact."

"I first suspected that it leeched some of our magical power to the Dark Lord and, wanting to negate that as soon as possible, I researched many obscure detection spells that helped me study the Mark. I was surprised to find that the Dark Mark created a link between us and the Dark Lord, and that the link somehow revolved around our emotions, rather than our magical core."

Albus listened without interruption. He understood that Severus was trying to explain to himself his loss of control and Albus wanted to see whether it really had anything to do with the Dark Mark. He sincerely hoped that the Dark Mark had nothing to do with it. Severus continued.

"I had realised, back while I was still under his service, that the Mark was part of the reason why we couldn't resist his Legilimency, though his innate will power and magical control was enough in itself to overcome the resistance of most of the Death Eaters. Once I decided to serve the Light, I frantically tried to find a way to resist its influence; for fear that my change of heart might lead to nothing more than a painful death on my next encounter with the Dark Lord."

Albus already had his suspicions on how Severus could hide his allegiance from Tom and suspected that it was the one area of magic that Tom was weak in. However, he waited for him to confirm his suspicions. "I found that the Dark Mark augmented his Legilimency by providing an additional means to the Dark Lord to read our emotions. However, I found that he couldn't correctly identify the presence of love. When I was begging him for Lily's life, I fully expected him to mock my reasons. However, he was merely puzzled at my request, for he thought that I could find desirable woman easily. He did not understand why I wanted to save her, for he could see nothing in my emotions."

Albus triumphed in his mind while maintaining his outward calm. He now had an idea of what exactly the "power the Dark Lord knows not" could be. Severus was by now simply getting things off his chest. Dumbledore had had few equal conversations with him. Usually, more so after a meeting with Voldemort, Severus had a desire to unburden himself and found Dumbledore a useful listening post. Dumbledore too profited from this for some of his best insights into Severus' and even Tom's minds had come from such incidents.

"But this time, Dumbledore, I'm feeling the Dark Mark's weight on my mind more profoundly than ever. I first thought this was a consequence of the Dark Lord getting more powerful; now I wish it were that simple. Before, I could cloud the Dark Mark by directing it to my feelings of love, no easy task by itself, especially in the Dark Lord's presence. Once I achieved that, however, the Mark could detect no emotions from me as it could not identify love as a possible emotion."

"Ever since his return, I can feel the Dark Mark pulling on my mind. I have been feeling a desire to express my feelings, to _get them out of me_, ever since. Her house and her eyes were simply too much to deal with. Damn Tonks and that stupid bet! I barely managed not to name her in my confession to Potter."

Albus spoke for the first time since Severus's monologue began "So you now believe that Voldemort is now capable of detecting love, at least? I think that is possible, given that he used Harry's blood, which now flows in him too. I never thought he could overcome that barrier." His worry was clear in his voice.

"That cannot be completely true, Albus" reassured Severus "or else I would have been dead by now. I learned from Peter that something had happened that night. Both Potter and the Dark Lord suffered from some intense magical backlash. It even affected the Death Eaters, because of the Mark, I'm sure."

Albus replied "Yes, Harry told me that both he and Voldemort blacked out when they tried to curse each other at the same time. I believe it possible that Voldemort's connection to Harry's blood was weakened when he tried to kill Harry." He wondered about the possible effects on Harry himself. He would have to get Harry's permission to look over his scar once more.

Severus agreed "Yes, I deduced from our meeting that the Dark Lord himself is still no more capable of recognising love than the dead are. However, the Dark Mark is attuned to our emotions and his magic. It can detect love now, I fear. I will have to rely only on my Occlumency after this. I believe that it is too risky to fall back on love too much. The Dark Lord has come to expect utter calm and an absence of emotions from me. I think a part of him may even appreciate that about me. However, he trusts no one. I do not know how long I can resist his continuous probing. Potions are useless because I'm sure that he has warded the manor to detect and identify the potions in our system. I have done the same for some of the Death Eaters' hideouts on his orders."

Albus sighed in acceptance "Very well, Severus. We shall be much more careful from now on whenever Voldemort asks you to visit. Let us now see what happened in your meeting with him."

x-x

In Riddle Manor, Voldemort too was analysing his meeting with Snape. Having fully recovered, he no longer needed the despair of his 'family's' spirits. Instead, he put them to a more useful purpose. They slowly began radiating their dread throughout the manor, notably focusing on the old visitors' hall. Voldemort had it converted to a functioning meeting place. He was now looking into the memory of Snape's visit, which started in this very room.

The room had Voldemort's favourite armchair placed in front of the fireplace. It was deliberately kept sparse. The rug was usually occupied by Nagini, her mere presence enough to make any Death Eater nervous. There was no other furniture in the room, except for an old oak table placed against the wall, for when Voldemort needed to consult tomes or, as he was doing right now, view memories.

It was into such a place that Snape entered, the manor having recognised the piece of Voldemort on his wrist and allowed him entry. He went into a respectful bow on entering the room. Certain Death Eaters, Bellatrix and Severus among them, were allowed to retain a small amount of self-respect in the Dark Lord's presence. It would have been very suspicious if he had tried to grovel for the Dark Lord's forgiveness.

Voldemort lazily conjured a hard backed chair out of thin air, which fell with a thud onto the rug, causing Nagini to hiss in discomfort. He did not expect Snape to be disturbed at her presence and in that respect, he was not disappointed.

"Ah Severus, my friend, I find you responding a little late to my summons, though it is nothing compared to your previous neglect. Perhaps you could give me a reason not to torture you to death?" He asked dangerously.

Snape gave the tiniest of flinches as he sat. Voldemort tried to gauge his emotions and he could feel the faint trace of fear, covered by something that caused his blood to sing in pleasure. He leaned back to hear Snape's explanation, while at the same time analysing his own curious reaction to the probing.

"My Lord, I was aware of your return since last Christmas, as was Karkaroff-"

Voldemort interrupted him, hissing "If then, your negligence looks closer to betrayal, Severus. If I find that to be the case, you will meet the same end that awaits Igor Karkaroff!"

Snape's face showed alarm, but Voldemort noted that it did not show through the link. An act then, Voldemort thought, or something is blocking the Mark from sensing the same in his emotions. Rage rose in his mind instantly at the significance of his observation. His blood instantly stopped singing. Curious now, Voldemort tried to probe Snape again. He could once more detect only a small trace of fear. However, his blood started reacting again and managed to quench his rage. He started feeling empty of all emotion.

During this, Snape tried to placate Voldemort "My Lord, allow me to explain! All the Death Eaters would have been aware of your imminent return, My Lord; the Dark Mark was growing stronger before our very eyes!"

Voldemort started showing interest in Snape's reasons. "That is curious, Severus. None of the others have informed me of this. It must have slipped their mind, I daresay. However, you were always fascinated in the Dark Arts, weren't you? I even remember your foolish attempts to examine my Mark, though you stopped after a little dose of pain. You would have of course noted the resurgence of my Mark and its significance. Why then did you not rush to find me, Severus? What stayed your hand?"

Snape's eyes grew hopeful. There was a possibility of his surviving this meeting. Voldemort could see that he was surprised at being given so much leeway. The fool, he thought. Lord Voldemort does not give out compliments. He was loosening Snape's tongue. Voldemort knew that his magic was not impenetrable. If anyone among his Death Eaters could find a way around his Mark, it would be Snape. He noted that Snape's surprise showed through the Mark for in instant before it was swallowed up by that which he couldn't sense.

"My Lord, I knew that you were gaining strength and I knew that it means you had help. However I did not know where you were, nor how to find you. So I decided, my Lord, to be armed with useful information upon your return. I had gained Albus Dumbledore's trust by then and I knew I could be useful to you as a spy when you returned." Snape said hastily, fearful of the Dark Lord interrupting him again.

"If you are so trusted by Albus Dumbledore, Severus, how then did his loyal Order form within hours of my return?" Snape grew visibly surprised at the Dark Lord's knowledge. "Oh yes, Severus, I am aware that the Order of the Phoenix has reassembled to try their pitiful attempts at stopping me. Could you not convince them against my return? Or did you convince them of it?" Voldemort allowed some anger to creep into his voice.

"My Lord, Albus Dumbledore extracted Potter's memory of your rebirth. Potter convinced him of your return before I could get to either of them. Dumbledore was already suspicious when Karkaroff fled after the third task, my Lord, when Potter was still missing." Snape explained, managing to stay calm.

"You will find Karkaroff for me, Severus, I know he trusts you." Snape nodded gratefully, his emotions completely undetectable once more. It was just like during the first war, after he begged me not to kill the mudblood wife of James Potter, Voldemort thought suspiciously. Snape also fell for my bluff about the Order. But I have changed. I now have something that I did not have before - the ability to partly resist love-based magic. Voldemort instantly understood the reaction in his blood. He made a split-second decision.

"What I really want to know, Severus, is why Harry Potter is safe and sound after four years under your care? You knew that the boy could be a threat to me. Do you expect me to believe that you foresaw my use of Potter's blood?" Voldemort asked threateningly.

Snape, it seemed, had anticipated this question. He took a deep breath, and said cautiously "My Lord, it causes me great regret to say that I believed you destroyed on that day, fifteen years ago. Your Mark had nearly vanished and I thought that it could mean only one thing. I sought protection and I went to Dumbledore, my Lord, and managed to convince him of my repentance by playing to his weakness. When I saw the Mark returning, I immediately understood and decided to spy for you. I had no reason to jeopardise my safety before then by attempting to kill Potter in revenge, under Dumbledore's watchful eyes. I did try my utmost to get him expelled from Hogwarts; even Potter himself could confirm this. I thought I could quietly dispose of him once he was thrown out. After your return, I couldn't touch Potter if I wanted to stay useful to you in Hogwarts, my Lord. I followed Potter to try and Obliviate him after his return. However, Dumbledore found him before I could, as he has control over the Hogwarts wards."

Voldemort thought of a perfect trap for Snape that the fool could only answer with the truth in order to escape his wrath. "I find it curious, Severus, as to how you managed to convince Dumbledore of your change of ways? If you have found a weakness in Dumbledore, I want to know what it is!"

Snape quickly spoke, eager to prove to the Dark Lord his usefulness as a spy "My Lord, Dumbledore always believes in second chances. You are aware that he allowed the werewolf Lupin to study at Hogwarts. He even allowed Lupin to teach Defence against the Dark Arts the year before the tournament. He also forgave James Potter and his friends for endangering my life when we were students there. From this, I knew that he would believe me if I spun a tale of regret and asked for a second chance, my Lord."

Snape had managed to avoid the trap. He has Slytherin cunning, Snape, and it stays with him no matter what side he is on, though Voldemort. However, I am not the Heir of Slytherin for nothing. He chucked "How cunning of you, my friend. I already knew that love was a foolish weakness and it is Dumbledore's greatest one. No doubt you spun a tale of love for one of my victims. It is what I would have done, though Dumbledore isn't yet senile enough to believe such words from me. We have a long history and I know that he believes me incapable of love, quite correctly in fact."

He could not pretend to be pleased with Snape's information, as Dumbledore already knew of Voldemort's views on 'the Leader of the Light' and he would no doubt be viewing this conversation. This was the perfect chance to cement Dumbledore's belief in his little weakness. We shall see who the master at manipulation is, he thought, relishing the chance to use Snape in wonderful ways.

"Very well, Severus, you have done well not to abandon your post at Hogwarts. You have Lord Voldemort's favour. I will reward you by allowing you to perform an important task for me." said Voldemort in a carefully pleased tone. He then hissed to Nagini, who immediately changed into a harmless looking garden snake and slithered obediently up to his shoulder.

"It is essential that Nagini is let into Hogwarts. I know that the wards will recognise her as your pet and allow her inside. You will take her with you on the first of September so that her presence will be lost among the students' pets. She will perform her task and then find you, upon which you will bring her back to me." Snape silently allowed Nagini to slither into his robes. Voldemort then nodded in dismissal. Snape got up from the chair, which immediately vanished, and kneeled to kiss the hem of Voldemort's robes, to show his gratitude at having the Dark Lord's favour. He was just out of the door when Voldemort spoke.

"Oh, and Severus," he started, the final 's' ending in a low hiss that caused Nagini to hiss threateningly inside Snape's robes. Dread immediately rose in Snape; no doubt he thought Voldemort had realised his betrayal and was ordering Nagini to strike. Voldemort inwardly grinned and inhaled his dread. "know that my favour doesn't last forever. I will know if any magic has been performed on Nagini, including the touch of wards. You'd better be sure that my test detects satisfactory results."

The memory ended once Snape left. Voldemort, the one in the present, was pleased with his own decisions. Killing such a cunning Slytherin would have been a waste. Now that he knew whom Snape truly served, it was as though Snape was one more his faithful servant. Now, Snape could neither harm Nagini nor allow anyone else to do so. He could only hope that Voldemort hadn't assigned a job to her that would not result in his own termination as a spy. That is, if he revealed his task to Dumbledore. But no doubt, he would go to the old fool to see if he had a solution. Dumbledore would conclude that this is a test for Severus Snape himself, especially on hearing Voldemort's parting sentence, and allow Snape to bring her inside. Voldemort could tie Dumbledore's hands anytime he wished through his own pet spy. Yes, he had made the right decision.

x-x

At Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape came out of the former's pensieve. Severus once again started pacing in anxiety. Albus chuckled "I do not understand why you are so upset, Severus. You have convinced Lord Voldemort that you are on his side. He even gave you an important task to perform. You should be proud!"

Snape stopped pacing and snarled "Do not mock me Dumbledore. The Dark Lord may have believed my story, but he trusts no one! And were you even listening? He already knew that the Order had re-formed; he even knew how the Hogwarts wards works! He may already have a spy in the Order. This means I can only report to you in private, which I do anyway. This means that I will have to watch my behaviour around the other members."

Albus tried to calm Severus down. "I do not believe, yet, that Voldemort has a spy in the Order, other than you, of course. As for the Hogwarts wards, he may have found that out when he was a student here. He could have even brought Nagini with him to probe the wards and confirm the fact during the one time he visited me in Hogwarts. As for the Order, the very fact that I am aware of his return could hint to him that I would assemble the Order once more."

Severus did calm down then. "Well, what about this task he's given me? Has it crossed your mind that he may have told Nagini to kill Potter or one of his friends in their sleep? You cannot even modify the wards unless you want me to retire as a spy. We cannot even take that risk without knowing how essential Nagini's task is to the Dark Lord."

Albus agreed "Well, at the very least, we can rule out the possibility of Nagini killing Harry. Voldemort would no doubt want to do that himself. As for the other possibilities, we can take that risk, Severus. I believe that this is just a test for you. Why would he give you a task that would force your hand the moment you return to him, just after you convince him that you can be a good spy?"

Snape wouldn't settle with that "We cannot take that risk, Albus. I feel that he suspects me at the very least. He may want to make one good use from my position before giving me up from his ranks."

Albus commented "Be that as it may, given the fact that he sent Nagini herself here, I have a feeling that this has something to do with the Chamber of Secrets. He would of course have found out that the basilisk is dead. Hogwarts rumours are impossible to suppress. He might be trying to find a way to enter Hogwarts through the Chamber."

Severus reached for the Floo powder and commented "I hope we don't come to regret this if we find someone dead in their beds!" Dumbledore cheerfully said "Oh don't worry Severus, the beds are charmed to detect harmful substances, including Firewhisky, in students sleeping in them. That's how I'm aware of the Slytherin ritual of making their new Quidditch teammates try Firewhisky after their first win. If anyone's bitten while they're awake, I'm sure you can brew a potion to counteract Nagini's poison."

Severus just nodded, unable to decide which of his masters was the more insane one, and left, feeling a strong urge for Firewhisky all of a sudden.

x-x

At long last, Harry's birthday came up, breaking the mind-numbing monotony of life at the Dursleys. He had gotten greetings and gifts from all his friends. Hermione, predictably, had sent him a book called '_In-Depth Broomstick Care for Advanced Quidditch Players'. _It even had spells to correct the shape of the tail of brooms to better smooth its flight, along with security charms and spells to check the broom for tampering. She had sent him a book earlier, the very day after he had informed her of his hearing, titled '_A Comprehensive Collection of Laws affecting Underage Witches and Wizards: What the Ministry can and cannot do to your Children'. _Harry had looked through it and found it very useful for his upcoming hearing.

Ron, with the help of Fred and George, had sent him a very expansive Broomstick Maintenance Kit, which had wear-resistant polish, magical wood that could be used to replace broken twigs and even potions to soak his Firebolt in, potions that magically restored the quality of the wood, which deteriorated after long use.

Harry guessed that its cost would have been a good portion of his Firebolt's cost and was touched that Ron would consent to trying the twins' experimental stuff to buy Harry such an expensive gift. Harry was even more pleased to note that Hermione and Ron had co-ordinated their gifts.

He had also received a huge supply of pies and cakes from Mr and Mrs Weasley, the latter of who always thought that Harry needed some fattening up. Harry had to suppress a mad urge to laugh during breakfast on imagining the look on Dudley's face if he knew about the goodies Harry had stacked under the loose floorboard below his bed.

Sirius, surprisingly, had foregone his usual misdemeanour-aiding gifts and had given Harry a heavy gold ring studded with emeralds and diamonds which had the Black family crest on the inside surface. In his note, he explained that it was usually worn by the expected heir to the family line. Harry grew misty-eyed at the closeness of the gesture. He was glad that Sirius had overcome his revulsion for his family and was thinking of adding honourable members to it. He immediately put it on his right ring finger and vowed never to take it off.

Remus had compensated and presented him with a true Marauder gift. It was a pair of mirrors, one with a heavy, impressive looking gold frame and the other with a more delicate-looking one. It had a flowery design on the golden frame that Harry learnt later from Remus were fleur-de-lis, or french lilies.

Remus explained in his letter that the mirrors had belonged to his parents. They had left it to Remus (along with James' comment that he should buck up and find someone to use the second mirror with, which was written in Sirius' letter). Sirius also hinted at Harry that Remus had at last found someone and had decided to give the mirrors to Harry.

Remus had explained that the 'male' mirror was connected to a pair that Sirius and Remus owned. They had removed the connections during the suspicious times of the first war. Peter had the fourth mirror and of course, Sirius and Remus had put measures into place so that he could not connect to any of their mirrors. Harry could utter Sirius' or Remus' name while holding it and if they responded, Harry could talk to them anytime. Remus and Sirius also recommended, separately, that Harry put both mirrors to 'full' use, stating that the 'female' mirror was connected to his in a similar way. If Harry gifted it to someone, the charms would come into effect.

Harry laughed on reading from Remus that Sirius had wanted to include in his letter a small 'talk', which Remus had persuaded against. He stopped laughing when he read that Remus had convinced him that they could do it together, in person. Harry was not looking forward to it.

Harry was surprised to receive a gift from Ginny, who, despite her immense crush on Harry, hadn't sent Harry gifts before. He supposed that Malfoy's ridicule of her first gift had embarrassed her too much. He was glad that Tonks didn't know about the poem she had written him in her first year.

It was a pair of what looked like muggle contact lenses inside a seamless glass container full of liquid, and a comb. Ginny explained that they could cycle through different colours on the tap of a wand and a command. His hair would change colour when he used the comb on it and the contacts could magically adjust to his eyesight. The hair colour change lasted almost a day while the lenses used his innate magic to maintain their tint till he removed them. Tapping the comb twice would immediately remove the charm and tapping the container twice would instantly attach the lenses to his eyes or return the lenses to their container. Harry noted that it was actually the only way to remove the lenses from the container, which was unbreakable and scratch resistant.

Ginny had warned him that they were a Fred and George product, which she got a free sample of since it was developed based on her ideas. She told him that they were useful for disguise and warned him not to use them in his daily life.

Harry wrote back telling her that it was a fantastic idea and that he was touched that she chose to give it to him. He also wrote back to everyone else thanking them for their gifts.

x-x

Breakfast that day was hilarious, well just for Harry, as he came down with dark green hair and black eyes. He found that if he wore his glasses over the contacts, they would automatically change to correct for his glass' prescription.

Vernon was apoplectic with fury and screamed at Harry for daring to use magic in his house. Harry merely ignored him. Petunia was curious as to why Harry hasn't been punished for it by the freak government. Harry simply showed them his comb, which was now the exact shade of green as his eyes. He put it into his pocket and surreptitiously tapped both the contact box and his comb twice when Vernon was in danger of bursting the vein in his temple.

After the shock of finding Harry back to normal, the Dursleys proceeded to completely forget that anything had happened. Harry caught Dudley throwing eager looks at his pocket and decided to offer the comb to him while his parents were not around.

At half-past nine, Harry met Tonks outside. She had finally managed to finish her Auror work (really boring paperwork, though it was a report on a raid and capture of several dark artefacts from some store in Knockturn Alley) and Dumbledore had once again assigned her to guard Harry.

Harry was expecting her to hug him and braced himself for the shock, when she punched him squarely in the jaw. He gasped in pain and clenched his teeth when that set off a sharp shock of pain.

"Harry James Potter! How could you? Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was when Ginny approached me to convince me to give you a chance at going out with me? The poor girl was almost in tears! I was tempted to tell her that you'd tried to hit on me!" Tonks whispered furiously.

Harry started laughing, finding the situation so funny that he could ignore his pain. "So why didn't you?" he asked, merely content with smirking at Tonks.

She shrugged "If it were anyone else, I would have. But I suspect she would have burst into tears and run out and then Bill and Charlie would've thumped me for making their kid sister cry."

Harry was surprised that she knew Bill and Charlie before it hit him that they'd probably went to Hogwarts together. Tonks planned to directly Apparate them to the Ministry at half-past ten, so Harry took her up to his room to show her his haul.

Tonks whistled appreciatively at the book and the service kit, but she blushed intensely for a moment when she saw the mirrors before she hid it under a calm face that looked completely faked to Harry. He put it together in an instant. "No way! You and Remus? No wonder you weren't interested in younger guys!" He started laughing when she blushed again.

"So that's why he wanted the mirror back. He should have told me why! I bet you anything it was Sirius' idea not to. He knew you'd put it together. Ah, so he even told you that Remus was seeing someone! Oh, I'm going to kick his mangy butt when I see him next!" She grumbled, half in anger, still trying not to blush.

Harry took pity on her and changed the topic, slightly "You two must have been going out for a while as this mirror seems to hold some, ah, intense associations. So how come your parents didn't know about it?"

Tonks sighed in exasperation "I'm still trying to convince the fool that they wouldn't mind his Lycanthropy. Never mind that! Show me what else you got. By the way, I still want those office rumours." She finished with a grin.

Harry raised an eyebrow "Oh? And give me the reputation of seducing a married witch? I'd need some pretty good incentive. I'll first see what Remus thinks."

Tonks was busy munching on a piece of cake and either didn't hear him or was pretending not to have heard him. She simply nodded on seeing the ring on Harry's finger as though she knew Harry'd have that, but she got an evil grin on her face when Harry explained Ginny's gift.

Five minutes later, Tonks had half convinced and half bullied him into sporting electric blue hair and dark brown eyes (without glasses) to match her own appearance. She told him it'd be an additional layer of protection against unfriendly eyes. Harry happened to agree. No stuck up pure-blooded Death Eater would be able to look at them for more than a few seconds without turning away with watery eyes. Their hair was that bright.

Tonks then gave him her gift. It was a splendid set of robes in velvet black, with golden embroidery at the collar, cuffs and hems. There was an insignia over the heart, a smaller one on each shoulder and a slightly larger one on the back, right below the middle of the collar. It was a shield with the sun at its center. Tonks explained "That is the Potter house crest. I had these specially commissioned for you. You should have one for official functions."

Harry appreciated the gift very much. He thanked Tonks profusely and told her that he wanted to wear it today. Tonks convinced him to save it for really important occasions, happier ones. However, she had a small smirk on her face that Harry couldn't think of a reason for. They then planned today's itinerary.

"With you looking like this, I don't have to hide. Nobody will think that this hot hunk has anything to do with the whiny wimp known as Harry Potter." Tonks happily announced.

Harry scowled but its effect was slightly ruined by his vivid blue hair. She continued "Of course, I won't come inside Madam Bones' office and you can go inside without anyone associating you and me together. Remember to change your appearance back like this before you come out."

Harry spotted a hole in her brilliant plan "But won't everyone know who I am the moment I walk into the office at eleven? After all, who else is supposed to be there?"

Tonks frowned in thought. "Ok. I'll accompany you till the Auror Headquarters. There will be a receptionist outside. She's a friend of mine and I'll tell her not to gossip. I think you'll be safe inside the Headquarters. Even if there is an Auror loyal to Voldemort inside, they won't dare to capture you in front of all the other Aurors. We are all very aware of our surroundings."

Harry hastily turned his laugh into a cough. He didn't need puss filled boils at such a critical time.

He nodded, saying "I'll keep this appearance till I meet Madam Bones, just in case." Tonks grabbed his hand and Apparated them directly into the reception hall of the Ministry of Magic. Harry discreetly let go of Tonks' hand, hoping that his reaction was not permanent.

After giving Harry a minute in which he gaped at the opulent surroundings - the peacock blue ceiling filled with runes and the Fountain of Magical Brethren, Tonks led him to a security guard and indicated that he should check in his wand. While the instrument into which he'd placed it was humming, Tonks whispered "It'll identify your wand and register it with the guard. Your identity will automatically go into a log kept in the Auror Office. This guard doesn't have the clearance to know who the people are. However, if the wand matches that of any known criminal who should currently be in Azkaban, it'll set of an alarm."

The guard took the slip which the instrument spit out and put it in a drawer without looking at it. He nodded at Harry and gave him back his wand. Harry pocketed it and followed Tonks to a set of golden grilled gates that appeared to be lifts. With luck, they got into an empty one.

Tonks said "We need to get out at Level Two." as the elevator went down. People got in at every floor and got out in a few. Harry didn't notice their faces. He was busy listening to the voice announcing what departments each floor contained.

They got out at Level Two. By now, Harry was feeling slightly nervous and blindly followed Tonks without looking around. She explained, as she walked at a brisk space towards the other end of the floor, "For security, the office of the Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement is located furthest from the entrance. It is as such protected by the Auror Headquarters." When they arrived at the entrance to the Headquarters, the time was ten to eleven. Tonks wished him luck and kissed him on the cheek, for once looking completely serious. Harry felt ripples emerge from the spot. He swallowed his apprehension and entered, pushing the chatter from Tonks and the receptionist to the back of his mind.

Auror Headquarters was a maze of cubicles designed to comfortably contain one person, his desk, a chair and a shelf and not much else. Harry ignored the curious looks from the Aurors present, some of whom addressed him as Tonks before getting a closer look. He marched straight to an actual wall that reached the ceiling. It contained a door which had a golden plaque that read '_Amelia Bones, Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Ministry of Magic_'.

Harry knocked on the door and opened it after hearing a curt "Enter" from a woman whose very voice sounded strict and indicated a no-nonsense attitude in the owner. He was surprised when the office also contained Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic himself.

Keeping cool, Harry wished them both a good morning. Madam Bones was a square-jawed witch with a monocle. She wished him back, giving no hint of surprise on seeing his appearance or questioning his identity. Fudge however started with an annoyed look "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Harry grinned and put on his glasses. At the same time, he discreetly tapped the comb and the contact box with his wand, all of which were in his right pocket. In an instant, Harry Potter as the world knew him stood in the place where a blue-haired, brown-eyed youth had been before.

Madam Bones indicated Harry to sit in the chair in front of her desk, while Fudge sputtered in indignity at an underage wizard using magic in his presence. As he didn't see Harry cast a spell or even utter an incantation, Fudge couldn't accuse him of anything. Madam Bones gave the slightest of smiles at Fudge's discomfort.

"I wasn't aware that you would be here, Minister. It was not indicated in the letter." Harry spoke, looking at Fudge with a steady eye.

Fudge replied instantly "My presence is not required, but it is within my power to take part in any underage hearing without prior notice." Harry knew that that much, at least, was true from what he gathered from Hermione's most useful book. He noted that Fudge conveniently forgot to add that he was not allowed to interfere in any way.

Madam Bones officially started the hearing with "Mr Potter, I have no use for idle formalities. You are Mr Harry Potter of Number Four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey?" On Harry's nod, she continued "Please, give us your explanation on what happened at approximately seventeen minutes past ten on the twenty second of July?"

Harry responded with his own question "Madam Bones, I do have one question. The letter did not name me as the caster of the Stinging Hex. It merely stated that one had been performed. Why am I here at all in the first place?"

Fudge looked angry that a teenager was questioning the workings of his Ministry, but Madam Bones looked approving of his sharp mind. She replied "The Ministry only detected that the spell had been performed. We do not automatically assume that you are its caster, though it is most probably true as you are the only registered magical being in that area. The first purpose of this meeting is to confirm that you performed the spell at all."

Harry was encouraged to investigate further due to her open attitude "Please, Madam Bones, why then did the Ministry not obtain such a similar confirmation the previous time magic was detected at Privet Drive? For all that you are aware, that may not have been me either."

Fudge's face started turning pink in consternation, but Madam Boned calmly explained "The first time, there is no punishment or any other consequence and so we do not bother to verify the event. In any case, it is useful that first timers receive such a warning. Theoretically, that should be enough to stop such occurrences, not taking into account emergencies."

Harry then answered her original question "Thank you, Madam Bones. I would like to explain that at the stated time, I was merely doing chores for my Aunt Petunia. I had no idea that any magic had been performed. My wand was with me, in my pocket."

Fudge looked like he wanted to speak in objection but Madam Bones' reputation and presence were enough to contain him. Madam Bones asked "So you mean to say that you yourself performed no magic. That can be easily verified. Please hand over your wand." Harry handed it over and she performed the Priori Incantatem on it. It emitted a few sparks that Madam Bones dismissed. Harry was interested to note that that was how activation of self-powered magical devices looked like. He imagined that the spark was actually the small amount of magic the device drew from his wand to activate what was probably Runes. Harry suddenly wished he had followed Hermione's example and taken Ancient Runes and Arithmancy instead of the useless Divination.

The last spell Harry remembered performing was the Summoning Charm on the Triwizard Cup. It showed up, after a few seconds, as a shadow of the Cup that moved a few inches towards the wand. It was preceded by a number of Stunners, Impedimentas and other battle curses that Harry had cast while escaping the Death Eaters. Madam Bones stopped after a dozen spells.

She then asked Harry to explain these spells and their uses. Harry obliged. "The last spell was a Summoning Charm I performed on the Triwizard Cup. The previous ones were various battle spells I used to escape -" Fudge suddenly cut him off "that he probably used to escape obstacles in the Third Task, Amelia."

Harry wanted to argue, but he sensed that Fudge had his own agenda. Madam Bones looked sharply at Fudge for his interruption and concluded "It is clear to me that these spells were used over a month ago. I conclude that Mr Potter did not cast the Stinging Hex and so is cleared of this offence. There will be no fine or punishment."

Harry rose to thank Madam Bones and leave, but apparently, Fudge wasn't done with him yet. "Now, now, Amelia, we have only established that Mr Potter did not use his own wand to perform this spell. He may be lying. He could have used another wizard's wand."

Harry coolly responded "If you assume that if I had taken any of my friends', schoolmates' or Professor's wand, I could only have done so over a month ago. Anyone would have noticed such an important item missing and reported it to the Ministry before now."

Fudge wasn't ready to give up so easily "Oh, you could easily have convinced one of your friends to lend you their wand!"

Harry countered "That is improbable. Besides, what motive do you think I have? Who could be my target? Why would I risk the punishment? You have my word and my wand's proof, Minister that I had nothing to do with the curse."

Fudge got a cunning glint in his eye "But we are not ready to take your word for it, Mr Potter. Perhaps you could convince us by taking a truth potion." Harry could see no way out of this. If he refused, Fudge would claim that as proof of his guilt. However, he could not trust Fudge to confine himself to the necessary questions. He looked at Madam Bones, who appeared very much against the suggestion, but she could not go against the Minister today, it seemed.

Harry relented. "I will agree to take the potion Minister. However, I'm unsure of your position here and I would prefer it if Madam Bones asked the questions." Fudge smiled indulgently and said "I understand, Harry, but unfortunately, Amelia doesn't have the power to question you like this. However, as Minister, I do."

Harry observed that though Madam Bones looked uncomfortable, she did not attempt to correct Fudge, leading Harry to believe that her hands were tied somehow. He also thought Fudge may force him to take Veritaserum if he refused. He nodded in acceptance.

Fudge took out a bottle of Veritaserum with a barely contained look of glee. Harry's heart started beating fast. He quickly spoke "Permit my interruption, Minister. I can recognise that as Veritaserum from my potions studies. As my life is at risk, I feel that I must point out that more than three drops of it will poison the recipient. Please do not use more than three drops."

Fudge looked at Amelia, who confirmed it. Harry thought that he could at least silence himself if Fudge went too far. He stuck out his tongue and Fudge carefully poured three large drops of Veritaserum on his tongue.

Harry's mind instantly blanked out. It was very similar to the Imperious Curse and Harry lost all desire to use his wand, In fact, he only had the desire to answer questions truthfully.

Fudge started "Did you perform the Stinging Hex at approximately seventeen minutes past ten on the twenty second of July?"

Harry did not even think about it, he blankly replied "No." He did not even know how he knew. Harry started to panic when Fudge did not stop at that. Harry prayed that he would not ask who performed it. His hopes were in vain.

Fudge continued "Do you know who performed the hex?"

Harry forced his brain to think. He could not remember how to lie. He desperately thought about who performed the hex. It was Severus Snape. Who was Severus Snape? He was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. He was also a Death Eater. Harry concluded that he had no idea who Snape really was. He replied aloud "No."

Fudge, it seemed, had nothing more to ask regarding his underage magic. He had much grander designs in mind. "Do you know the current location of Sirius Black, the escaped convict?"

Harry fought once more against the blankness. Sirius black was at the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. However, Harry didn't know where that was. He found it easier this time to reply in the negative.

Fudge looked sorely disappointed. However, he wasn't ready to give up yet. He asked "Did you help Sirius Black escape in your third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Try as he might, Harry couldn't refute the truth in this case. He knew from experience that he shouldn't try to explain unless Fudge asked him to. He prayed that Fudge would want to know; that Fudge would love to have proof of Harry's trust in a murderer from his own lips. He replied "Yes."

To his growing dread, Fudge, instead of asking why, asked "How did you help Sirius Black escape?"

Harry replied, somehow managing to keep his friends' names out "I released the hippogryph Buckbeak, which was to be unfairly executed by the Ministry. I flew on Buckbeak to the window of the room in which Sirius Black was kept. He slinked out of the window and flew away on Buckbeak."

Though Harry was not aware of it, Amelia Bones was impressed at Harry's presence of mind at coming up with a simple solution within his capabilities of magic, under extreme pressure of not one, but two imminent death sentences.

Fortunately, Fudge asked the question Harry wanted him to "Why did you aid Sirius Black?"

Harry started "I unexpectedly met Sirius Black" true, Harry wasn't expecting to see Sirius Black when he followed Ron and the dog; "while coming back to Hogwarts from Hagrid's hearing that evening. The Dementors came in search of him" He was skipping ahead, but Fudge hadn't asked him what exactly had happened; "and Sirius Black bewitched me" Harry was saying that in the figurative sense, but he knew that Fudge would take it literally; "into helping him escape before the Dementors knocked him out." Much before, but Harry decided that before was good enough.

Fudge looked extremely displeased at the turn of events, but he could see that he had no way to discredit Harry with this line of questioning. He tried one last shot. "Did you use Dark Magic to escape the clutches of the Dementors?"

Harry could've simply said no, but he decided to rub Fudge's failure in his face a bit. "I used a corporeal Patronus to repel the Dementors and I am unaware of its classification under Ministry Law." He knew that the spell was light, but he did not assume his own opinion as the truth.

At last, Fudge gave up and left the room as quickly as he could. Madam Bones immediately took a vial of what Harry assumed was the antidote and poured three drops on Harry's tongue.

When the light of focus returned to Harry's eyes, he noticed that she looked apologetic at what happened. She said "I must inform you Mr Potter that it is illegal for even the Minister to administer Veritaserum to you for an underage hearing, or for any other purpose, without your and your guardian's written permission. He also went out of line with the questioning. You are completely entitled to press charges."

Harry replied "I am aware of that Madam Bones and I do intend to press charges. However, I thought that he might persuade me to take the potion and Obliviate me afterwards if I refused."

She actually smiled. "You have a sharp mind, Mr Potter. I look for such intellect and the ability to handle unexpected situations in my Aurors."

Harry replied "I do intend to become one, Madam Bones."

She nodded and said "You should not find it too difficult to pass training, once you have the grades."

She then switched to more pressing issues. "My niece tells me that you were the one of a handful of students who could resist the Imperius Curse performed by the Death Eater Barty Crouch Junior and that you were the youngest, too. So, do you know the whereabouts of Sirius Black?"

Harry thought back to the letter Sirius has sent him reassuring him of Amelia Bones' character. He had told him, in case someone was impersonating Amelia, that he had once showed her the Marauder's Map while they were at Hogwarts because he had lost a friendly duel with her. Sirius had been one of the best duellers in Hogwarts then and it had taken Amelia Bones to take him down a peg.

Harry asked "What is the map and how do you know of it?" She thought for a bit and replied, with an impressed look on her face "The Marauder's Map was shown to me by Sirius Black because he lost a duel with me when we were both at Hogwarts."

Harry nodded. He said "Sirius is an Order member and is at their Headquarters, though I am truly unaware of its location. More importantly, he is innocent, and I think you already suspected that he was. Why have you not moved to give Sirius a re-trial? Actually, a trial, seeing as he never had one in the first place."

Madam Bones sighed and explained "It is not that simple. Re-trials are not scheduled just because someone says a person is innocent of the crimes he/she was imprisoned for. If that were true, any friend or family member of a Death Eater would have protested that they were innocent and the Ministry would have emptied its treasury by conducting trials. We need evidence of a possible false verdict before we can offer Sirius a re-trial, or, as you say, his first trial. Before you ask, memories, which can be modified, and opinions under Veritaserum, because that's what they are, just opinions, are not admissible evidence."

Harry sighed in defeat. He thanked her for being fair and got up to leave. She then asked if he could really perform a corporeal Patronus. Openly grinning at the thought of Fudge getting sacked because of him, Harry conjured the stag. Madam Bones was deeply impressed and told him to finish up his NEWTs fast and come see her.

Harry left her with a parting statement "Oh, the Stinging Hex was cast by an Order member who was guarding me, who I had a disagreement with." He then smoothly removed his glasses and changed his appearance back with a few taps of his wand and left to meet Tonks.

x-x

After getting back to his room with Tonks, Harry let go of his tightly held feelings. Tonks was exposed to her first Harry freak-out. She watched Harry blaming himself continuously for almost giving away Sirius' location. She slapped him and shocked him into silence. "Let me drive this into your thick head. You didn't give anything away. If you're still inclined to blame yourself, let's go see Sirius now and he himself can sort you out." She said firmly, leaving no doubt that she'd take him there, rules be damned.

Harry, however, had other plans for the second of August. He had to stay here till his original transfer date, the third of August. Feeling slightly ashamed of himself, he said "Ok, Tonks, a part of me agrees that I didn't do Sirius any harm today. But I can't face him right now. I need to convince the rest of myself too, the part that feels I've betrayed both Sirius' trust and Dumbledore's, for trusting with me the information. Please, give me some time to sort myself out. I promise to come to the Headquarters on the third, as originally planned. You can go tell them later today how the hearing went."

Tonks looked at him carefully before nodding in acceptance. Harry suddenly remembered that he needed an escort for the day after tomorrow. He asked "Tonks, you love me, right?"

She replied "Sure, yeah, why?"

Harry said "Since you're looking out for me and that stuff, would you terribly mind coming with me to Gringotts the day after tomorrow? You can't tell the Order about it, by the way."

Tonks had a mixture of mischief and apprehension in her eyes. "May I ask why?"

Harry grinned "Well, there are these two hot girls and, I presume, their equally hot mother whom I have to meet."

Tonks looked envious. "Harry, you are a lucky man! Can I pretend to be your girlfriend?"

Harry shrugged. "Sure, but they may not believe you."

Tonks raised an eyebrow. Having complete control over her facial features, it looked much more impressive than when Harry did it. "Oh, is that so? Tell me everything!"

x-x

AN: Over 10,000 words! Whew, I finished this at last. Enjoy. Next chapter, the (I hope) much awaited ship begins! Also, it'll have the aftermath of the trials of the Half-Bloods, as picked apart in the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.


	6. Chapter 06: Love Making!

Chapter 6 – Love-making!

AN: First of all, I'd like to apologize for the long break. My only excuse is that my masters' project has started and I needed some time to bring it off the ground. Secondly, I've realised that I need to redo the way I format my chapters. I find it strange to start a new paragraph after every sentence, as most dialogues are barely a couple of sentences long. However, I do cede to the requests of my readers. I'll try and implement it as much as I can in this chapter and the ones that follow. If I miss it somewhere, please to point it out. After this chapter is done, I'll go back and change the previous ones too, when I get into the mood. :P Without further ado, here's the sixth chapter.

The first of August was a tense day for the Order of the Phoenix. Albus Dumbledore himself came to Grimmauld Place and joined breakfast. For the first time in a long while, Molly Weasley found herself asking for help in the kitchen in order to get the food ready on time. Hermione and Ginny were roped into kitchen duty, though not even a ravenous army would be reason enough for anyone to ask Tonks for help.

Sirius was thankful for the dining table that, till now, he had considered snobbishly large. It was packed to capacity with Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minerva McGonagall, Mundungus Fletcher, Nymphadora Tonks and a host of others who normally had places to go for their meals.

Sirius sat at the head of the table, the house being his. Despite his stubborn rebellion against his parents' ideals, the lessons in etiquette were too deeply ingrained for even Azkaban to erase. Sirius had even bullied Molly into joining him at the table while Kreacher served the Order, seasoning each dish with a dash of his most colourful insults. Most members were used to him by now, though Hermione had a mixture of disgust and pity on her face. He noted that Fred and George, along with Ron, were listening hard to Kreacher, no doubt relishing the chance to learn new swear words. Sirius found himself missing James at that particular moment. He wished that at least Harry was here, whom Sirius had grown close to and saw as an equal and a friend, rather than as his godson.

Albus had seated himself near the opposite end of the table, being the only person, other than Minerva, who tolerated Snape's company. Once everyone had gone through the main course, Albus started questioning Tonks about the trial. Tonks had started sitting with Remus whenever both of them were present, though as far as Sirius knew, they hadn't told anyone else about their budding relationship.

Albus opened the questioning. "Nymphadora, can you tell us exactly what happened at Harry's hearing? Madam Bones informed me that there were complications though she was too busy dealing with them herself to explain."

Sirius looked around and saw that everyone was intensely curious. Molly had earlier tried to bar the kids from this but they knew full well that this wasn't Order business and she had to relent against their vehement protests.

Tonks had a slight scowl on her face. Dumbledore was one of the very few who could get away with calling her that. "The actual charges themselves were easily dropped once Harry submitted his wand. But Harry told me that the idiot Fudge wasn't really that interested in convicting him. It seemed to him, and I agree myself, that Fudge had come there looking to somehow discredit Harry. He wanted proof of some connection between you both, Sirius. I'm still astonished that Harry fought off Veritaserum, to an extent."

Sirius looked extremely proud. Ron, ever ready to grab the limelight, explained "Harry could throw off You-Know-Who's Imperius, so I guess Veritaserum was nothing."

Snape cut him off "Potter was a fool for even allowing Fudge to use Veritaserum on him. I should have known he was too ignorant to be aware of his rights in the Wizarding world."

Sirius instantly took offence to that "I'll thank you not to insult my godson in my own home, Snivellus." Remus shot him a look that quieted him, while Dumbledore kept Snape from starting an argument. The Weasley kids (including Bill and Charlie) looked cautiously gleeful at discovering Snape's nickname. Minerva merely shook her head at their antics.

Tonks looked curiously at Snape. He seemed not to be affected at all from his earlier revelation to Harry. She decided not to bring it up. Auror or not, she didn't want to get on Snape's bad side. However, she had to come to Harry's defence. "I'll have you know, Snape, that Harry was fully aware of his rights, thanks to Hermione here. He thought that if he'd protested, Fudge might have forced him anyway and Obliviated him afterwards. Now, he has an opportunity to remove Fudge from office. He even has Madam Bones as a witness. She couldn't go against Fudge during the hearing, but I have no doubt that she'd come to Harry's aid if he presses charges. She even told him that he could."

Sirius sneered at Snape. "See that, Snape? Harry's much cleverer than you think! Well, Dumbledore, we needn't worry about Fudge's refusal to believe you anymore. We can remove him from office with this."

Dumbledore nodded. "If it comes to it, Sirius, we could go down that route. However, I'm afraid that this scheme was far too dangerous and well thought out for it to have been Cornelius' idea. I'm afraid that he might have been acting on someone's instructions. A better use of his mistake would be using it to keep him in line. If we replaced him, his successor might very well be a Voldemort supporter."

Tonks chipped in "Besides, from what Harry told me, Madam Bones is leaning towards our side because of Fudge's actions. She even believes in your innocence, Sirius! If we can convince her of Voldemort's return, we would have a powerful ally in the Ministry. I think Kingsley should talk to her. She already suspects that some of her Aurors are in the Order and besides, Kingsley wouldn't have to worry about his false reports of your whereabouts anymore. By the way, what did you tell Harry about her? He told me you helped him confirm her identity before he told her about you."

Sirius gave a wistful sigh and merely replied "She was, and still is, a superb dueller, Amelia!"

Remus laughed and said "I hate to break this to you, Sirius, but going out with an escaped murderer might be harmful to her reputation. You ruined your chance at Hogwarts with your playwizard attitude."

Sirius scowled at him. "Well, your reputation didn't get in your way, did it, Remus old boy?" Tonks shot Sirius a glare that shut him up immediately. Unfortunately, it was noticed by Hermione. Tonks knew that it wouldn't take long for her to join the dots. From what Harry told her, she hoped that Hermione would keep her discovery to herself.

Molly broke them apart, saying "Could you two have such conversations in private? Take heed of your audience, for Merlin's sake!"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Honestly, mum, we're not little kids anymore. So, Professor Lupin has a girlfriend! Come on, Professor, spill!"

Remus grimaced. He'd been trying to get the kids to stop treating him like a Professor. However, he didn't like the side-effects of his decision. Molly screeched "You keep your nose out of other people's business, young lady!"

Albus chuckled and decided to steer the conversation back. "So, I think we're all agreed that Harry can wait in pressing charges against the Minister. I agree with you, Nymphadora. Kingsley, please try and bring Madam Bones to our side. Be discreet and cautious, however, your position is too important to jeopardise." Kingsley nodded.

Bill added "Speaking of getting people on our side, word in Gringotts is that Fleur Delacour is coming there tomorrow to apply for a job." Tonks inwardly cursed. She had to head him off without giving up Harry's confidence.

Ginny said scathingly "I bet you'd like to have her on your side, wouldn't you Bill?" Tonks thanked the heavens for Ginny's intervention. However, she wasn't out of the waters yet.

Hermione commented "Don't take it personally, Ginny, the Order needs all the help it can get. Besides, from what I saw before the Third Task, she had a thing for Bill herself." Ron looked jealous of his older brother.

Tonks decided to intervene. "Hold your hippogryphs Bill; I think we should first find out if she gets the job. Not much use to us in France, is she?"

Bill was not to be deterred. "Don't be ridiculous, Tonks. If she doesn't get the job, the Order will lose its only chance at making a connection."

Albus added "I believe Mr Weasley has a point. Miss Delacour's father is an important man in the French Ministry of Magic. He would help our cause if we can convince him of Voldemort's return. Right now, we cannot formally approach foreigners at will and I'm afraid to say that the International Confederation of Wizards in unwilling to believe in me without the backing of Cornelius' administration or the Wizengamot."

Tonks was starting to worry. She needed to head Bill off now. However, she didn't think anything she said would work. She sighed in resignation. "Bill, perhaps now isn't a good time to speak with Miss Delacour. She just went through the ordeal that was the Triwizard Tournament. Judging from Harry, she may not appreciate strange people approaching her right now."

Bill thought a bit on that. "Well, if she really thought so, she wouldn't be coming back to England, would she? She's even applying for a job here."

"Have it your way. But don't blame me if your, ahem, _advances _are rejected." Ginny giggled at that and Tonks winked at her. She had become close to Ginny from the time she had talked with her, courtesy of the Prat-Who-Lived. She was slowly getting to know Hermione as well. The only down-side was that they both kept pestering her for information on Harry. At least, in a couple of days, Harry would be here himself.

As if she had broadcasted her thoughts, Sirius spoke up "By the way, Dumbledore, why isn't Harry here yet? I thought we were bringing him here after his birthday?"

"That was the original plan, Sirius, but the trial had unintended consequences. From what Miss Tonks tells me, Harry was feeling immensely guilty over almost giving your location away. She felt, and I agree, that he needed some time to get his thoughts in order." Snape snorted at that, though he knew that he'd be shouted down if he said anything in his present company.

Hermione intervened "I think that bringing him here would be the best thing to do. If we leave him alone, he is prone to sulking and feeling guilty. If he were here, Ron and I and even Sirius could talk to him and set him straight."

This is not one of my good days, thought Tonks. "Don't worry Hermione. I talked to him and he said he just needed some time off to cool down. It's just one more day now. He'll be here before you know it." Hermione did not look reassured. Tonks had a feeling that some part of Hermione felt jealous at her for becoming Harry's confidant. She grinned to herself. Once Harry knew, he'd use the chance to tease Hermione any chance he got.

x-x

On the second of August, Harry was pacing restlessly in his room, waiting for Tonks to show up. He was intensely curious about the Delacours and had a feeling that by the end of today, he'd have some answers about his strange reaction to women.

Tonks arrived and updated him on what had happened with the Order. They had to take extra precautions against being recognised by Bill. They had decided on a heavy disguise. Harry changed his hair to a silvery-blond and his eyes to a deep blue. Tonks had done the same, except that she had grey eyes. She changed her features a bit to resemble Harry. If they met Bill, they hoped to pass themselves off as relations of the Delacours. Harry decided to wear the robes that Tonks had presented him. She giggled at this but when Harry enquired, she merely told him that he'd look dashing in it.

As an extra precaution, Harry decided to take his Invisibility Cloak too. At a few minutes past ten, they both took the Floo directly to Gringotts. As Tonks had explained, they came out at a reception area that was just off the main hall Harry had seen in his first year. Through the large and ornately decorated doorway, Harry could see the marble entrance hall and the long counter where numerous Goblins were carrying out the daily business.

Tonks enquired a Goblin and found out where the reception hall was for wizards arriving from France. She also found that no one resembling them had arrived yet today by pretending to be waiting for relatives.

Once they found the correct reception chamber, Tonks and Harry settled in an unobtrusive corner. Even without the Veela aura, Tonks was attracting attention from the wizards coming and going.

Harry whispered in Tonks' ear "I think I'm going to show this memory to Remus. I'm sure he'd appreciate it a lot. When's his birthday again?"

Tonks merely grinned saucily and said "Hah! Remus has seen be in much more sexy forms than this. Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Please! Spare me the gory details."

"He is such a hunk, you know. You should have seen him the other day, when I showed him my latest form of perfection. I swear that the wolf was coming out."

"Gah! Stop it! I'll never think of Remus as a Professor again."

For the next half hour, Harry was busy fending off questions from Tonks. She had been pestering him for details ever since Harry had asked her the favour. Harry had studiously refused to betray confidences, no matter how absurd her speculations were. The only thing he had agreed to was to ask the Delacours themselves if he could take others into his confidence.

Their casual bickering was interrupted by the arrival of the Delacours. For a second, Harry was stunned by the overload to his senses. The few wizards who were in the chamber immediately went slack-jawed. Harry himself was finding it hard to keep from drooling all over the floor.

Fleur and (Harry was slightly ashamed at the thought) her mother looked absolutely ravishing. In keeping with her purpose, Fleur had dressed formally. She was wearing a dark grey suit with a high collar that was covering a sheer silver dress that seemed to flow over her body. She was wearing her hair in a simple sheet like she had on her first night at Hogwarts.

Apolline looked more like an elder sister to Fleur. She had the same deep blue eyes as Fleur (though Harry amended that it was the other way around) and looked like royalty in her strapless navy blue dress. Harry noted that she was wearing a string of pearls around her neck, though Fleur wore no jewellery. Her hair was done up in an elaborate pattern that Harry didn't even try to name.

Gabrielle, being only nine (Harry had talked to her a bit, with Fleur translating, before the Third Task when the families arrived) looked incredibly cute in her black frock. Harry mused that it wouldn't be long before the other two had competition in attracting male attention.

Harry and Tonks rose and walked towards them. They were momentarily surprised at encountering people who looked like they might be related to them. Harry held out his hand but was instead drawn into a hug by Mrs Delacour. Harry was shocked when he didn't react in any weird way. Fleur and Gabrielle greeted him with kisses on his cheeks and Harry blushed in spite of himself. He glanced at Tonks, who was enjoying his discomfort, though she also looked slightly jealous.

Harry drew back and said "This is my escort. She prefers to remain anonymous. However, I can guarantee in her discretion. If you prefer, she need not be present for our discussion" The Delacours nodded. Tonks had decided not to give away anything about herself for now.

Harry looked at Fleur "I apologise for bringing this up, but can you tell me what Gabrielle had been tied to during the Second Task?" Harry had described the mer-village to Fleur and Gabrielle after the Second Task, on their request.

"She waz tied to a giant statue of a merperson. It 'eez nice to see that you can keep your wits in our presence, 'Arry"

Tonks enquired "How do you know that this is Harry, anyway?"

Mrs Delacour gave a predatory smile "He cannot hide from us, no matter what his disguise." Harry raised an eyebrow. He noted that her English was flawless.

"I have reserved a private meeting room, Mr Potter. We will have our discussion first, as that will decide whether my daughter will take a job here or not." Gabrielle grinned at him and took his hand. Harry found that he didn't mind.

More curious than ever, Harry and Tonks followed them to yet another chamber off the main hall. This one was much smaller than the reception halls. However, there were comfortable-looking chairs and even a pair of couches. A small marble table was present in the middle of the room, around which the furniture was arranged. There was no fireplace or any windows. Harry concluded that it was one of many meeting places that were hired out by the Goblins.

Tonks was looking serious. Her Auror side was in charge now. "If you don't mind, I'll check the security of this place." She then performed various charms to check for any threats and even did charms to make sure that there weren't any spying devices. Harry had told her about Rita, so she added in a spell to check for Animagi too. Having satisfied herself that Harry was in no danger, she gave him a wink that wasn't caught by the others and before Harry could react, kissed him dangerously close to his lips before flouncing out of the room. Harry grumbled curses under his breath.

Apolline had a teasing grin on her face. "When you said escort, Mr Potter, I thought you meant it in the security sense."

Harry turned and looked at the doorway, outside which Tonks was standing guard, invisible under Harry's cloak. He knew that Mrs Delacour hadn't yet put up privacy charms. "She seems to have taken a liking to me. I have the misfortune of having fan girls wherever I go. I've learned to live with them." Behind his back, Fleur and her mum were trying to stifle laughter. Harry turned back with a quizzical look on his face.

Apolline continued "Why yes, I can see that. They must be quite taken with you, considering that they have written poems about you. Now that I look at your eyes, why, they are as green as a fresh pickled toad!"

Harry turned red. "What are you talking about?"

Fleur went on to recite the embarrassing poem that Ginny had written him in her first year. Even though Harry was as red as a tomato, he had to appreciate that it sounded nice in Fleur's voice. Putting on a brave face and reminding himself to get back at Tonks later (he knew that she had something to do with it), Harry commented "Pardon my rudeness, but I was under the impression that I had caused problems with your family? You lot seem entirely too cheerful if that is the case."

Apolline settled down. Harry noted that the other two subconsciously deferred to her. She flicked her wand (Harry hadn't even noticed that she had it out and sternly reminded himself to keep his hormones in check) and the noises from outside were immediately cut off. Another flick and the door closed with a hissing sound. Harry got slightly nervous. He somehow forced down his teenage fantasies and smoothly shrugged off his disguise. He could tell that all three were impressed. Fred and George deserved every Galleon that he'd given them and more, decided Harry.

"It is not a problem, per se. It certainly isn't one to us. It affects you more, actually. That is why I insisted on meeting you. Otherwise, you will find it very difficult to get a girlfriend, for one thing. I admire your companion for trying, though." Apolline finished with a grin.

"You sounded much more formal in your letter."

"It can be attributed to our Veela nature. We instinctually adopt a behaviour that is most comfortable to the men we're around. It makes sure that they are not too restless around us."

Harry saw a glint in her eye as she said this, though, and decided to prod a little "Lulling us into a false sense of security? I'm aware that Veela were once hunters of men."

Fleur and Apolline exchanged a glance. Harry thought that an important decision had just been made. "In that case, you must also be aware of the effects of life debts on Veela?"

"I read that Veela naturally take control of any magic that links them to another individual. I'm guessing there are complications because of my rescuing Gabrielle." Here, Harry smiled at her, who smiled back, though she couldn't really follow what was going on.

"You are correct. As she is young, it took my daughter a few months to become aware of a bond. Had she been a mature Veela, she would have naturally taken control of the debt. As a result, you would have become hers, to do with as she desires." Apolline was watching keenly for his reaction.

Despite expecting something like this, Harry couldn't help gasping in shock. "But I saved her life!"

Apolline shrugged "Such is the nature of Veela. It doesn't matter that you helped her, her magic sees it as intent to enter into her life and responds accordingly."

Harry calmed himself. "It doesn't matter, Mrs Delacour. Even if that had been the price, I wouldn't have hesitated to help her."

Apolline shot him a look of disbelief. Fleur spoke up "It's how 'E is, maman! 'is nature is to help, even at risk to 'imself."

Apolline continued "Gabrielle is too young to deal with the link and had we ignored it, it would have faded over time. However, I have decided to let Fleur take control of it. We do not want to waste this opportunity."

Harry clamped down at his growing alarm. "What- What does that mean for me?"

Fleur seemed to have noticed it anyway. "Don't worry, 'Arry. It's nothing close to ze actual bond as it was intended for Gabrielle."

Apolline interrupted "What it means, Harry - May I call you Harry?" Harry nodded. "What it means is that we have an opportunity. You have unknowingly given us a chance to seek you out. Had it been anyone else, I would have simply dismissed the link. You, however, have a lot of potential. You are a powerful wizard and you are a famous one, though you have not made use of it."

Harry said coldly "I do not appreciate being used, Mrs Delacour. I am sick of my fame. It has given me nothing but pain. I see no reason to make use of it now."

"You can walk away now, Harry, but you must already know that it would have consequences. Did you not shiver when your companion kissed you? Your magic has pointed you to us and you must acknowledge it, for your own good."

For a second, Harry was tempted to walk away, consequences be damned. But then, he remembered his parents. Like them, the Delacours had treated him as an adult. Even now, they hadn't tried to force him to do anything. Although, he thought that such a thing might not be possible. Harry decided to deal with this like an adult.

"If it is I who am indebted to you, why have you not tried to force me into acceptance?"

At Apolline's nod, Harry was suddenly blasted with the full force of Fleur's aura. He found himself moving closer. He desperately thought to himself "No! This cannot be happening! I even resisted Voldemort's Imperious!" He was irresistibly drawn to Fleur. His mind was filled with her presence, his heart beat faster the closer he got. He lost himself in her eyes. He put a hand around her waist. She really was beautiful. Was it so bad to want to kiss her? She parted her lips. It was as though the gates of heaven had opened for him and him alone. He forgot everything else and was filled with a burning desire to taste her. Just a little bit closer.

When his lips were just an inch from hers, he was abruptly brought back to his senses. He realised that Fleur had reigned in her aura. Even as he let go of her and moved back, a small, traitorous part of his mind was cursing himself for not acting as though he was still under her spell.

Harry shook his head to clear it and looked at Gabrielle. She had hidden her face in her mother's legs. She knew what was happening; what was about to happen. She didn't want to see her hero fall. Harry was hit by a revelation that this is how Veela really were. Whatever he had seen before was just an act, like he had assumed.

Apolline spoke quietly, though with no hint of regret for what had just happened "Why didn't you act as though you were still under her thrall?"

Harry looked at Fleur, who had the same question in her eyes. Harry had the feeling that she was ashamed, even insulted, that he hadn't gone through with it. "It would have been easy," he said, holding her gaze, "easier than breathing, to give in, to what a small part of me was dying to do. But it wouldn't have been right."

Fleur nodded, her eyes shining with tears, though Harry had no idea why they were there. Relief, shame, anger, pride; any of these could have been the reason.

Apolline nodded with an indecipherable look on her face. "That is precisely why we did not force you. It would have worked and it will still work, but we want to give you a chance, to do things the right way. I think you have earned the right to call me Apolline."

She then spoke in French to Gabrielle, who looked at her sister nervously. The latter nodded, at which Gabrielle smiled toothily at Harry, who couldn't help smiling back. He then looked up. "It doesn't matter how you put it, Apolline, my choice has been taken away. But then, I do understand. I made a choice when I saved your daughter's life. At that time, I was naive enough to think that the mer-people were a credible threat. I truly believed that my life would be in danger if I went against their wishes, after they refused to let me take Gabrielle,. I freely chose to put my life at risk to save hers and this is a part of that choice."

Apolline had an approving look on her face "Though you were selected as a Triwizard champion, I did not think you would take this so maturely. You are proving my choice right."

"Staring death in the face so many times forces people to grow up much faster than normal."

Apolline had a stricken look on her face. Harry smiled. Till now, she had been totally in control of the situation. Time to show her what Harry Potter is made of, he thought.

"Well, Apolline, had I been a bit more susceptible to Fleur's aura and had I been as bold as one Roger Davies, I might have ended up with Fleur without even saving Gabrielle's life. But, as you may be coming to realise, there are dangers with being associated with me. I cannot bear putting Fleur in danger."

"We know the dangers of fame and fortune, Harry and we know how fickle the public are. I think my daughter can handle herself very well."

"I have no doubt about that, Apolline, but do you know exactly how Cedric Diggory died?"

When she shook her head, Harry spent the next few minutes explaining all about his history with Voldemort, culminating in his rebirth, though he didn't mention his parents.

"So you see, though I am fully aware of my importance in the world of wizards, I'm afraid that your family may have to pay a far higher price than anything you might gain from my influence, which I must say I have no idea how to use, either. Voldemort is not above seeking out your family if he thought it would hurt me."

Harry thought that he had convinced them to back away from him. He couldn't help but wish he had got this chance under better circumstances. After all, he was a teenage wizard. To his surprise, Apolline looked thoughtful, not scared. Fleur looked at Gabrielle, her fears clear on her face. Harry too looked at Gabrielle. To his surprise, she had gone to sleep in her mother's arms. On second thought, it wasn't very surprising. She didn't understand a word they were saying and must have been very bored. Harry felt a pang deep in his heart as he watched her sleep. He had never missed his parents as much as he did just then.

"I am aware of this Voldemort and his exploits. He was never very powerful outside Britain and the Veela race has survived the passage of more powerful and more terrible monsters than he. I think, Harry, that my family may have more to offer you than I first realised."

A strange hope sprang up in Harry's heart "Do you mean to say that you could help us with the war? But why would you want to put your family in such danger?"

"Oh I do not know what we can do with your war. I daresay my husband, Sebastian, would know more about that, with his contacts in the French and even British Ministries of Magic and the ICW. However, as I leave the politics to him, he leaves the Veela heritage and everything associated with it to me. Voldemort is not known much in France, but there have been strange rumours among the Veela about a dark entity that was looking to find a way around death, around fifty years ago. Of course, it may have nothing to do with Voldemort."

"But, Apolline, why do you want to help me? Why not just let me go? It would be much safer."

Apolline and Fleur exchanged an amused grin. "Well, Harry, when my daughter was in Hogwarts last year, she learnt a lot about your house system. To put it plainly, all Veela are like Slytherins in the respect that we want power, power over men. Unlike Voldemort or other Dark Lords, we do not want to destroy others. We know very well that we are different from humans. We have no reason to hate them for our differences. Veela can sense the potential in men and I learnt from Fleur, and even from just watching a bit of the tournament, that you are a very powerful individual. It isn't in our nature to back down from the hunt. In fact, after you told us that Voldemort is after you again, we are even more inclined to fight for you. He will make a good hunt and you a great prize."

Harry was a bit uneasy after hearing this. "If it is power you crave, why not go after Voldemort himself? If you can tame him, you can have power over many men."

Apolline looked dangerous, as though the predator was coming out. "You are brave to ask me that directly. We have learnt our lesson. We know now that evil such as he cannot provide us with what we want."

Harry was intrigued. "What do you mean; you have learnt your lesson? What exactly do you want?"

"I am sorry, Harry, but I cannot reveal that to you. We have our own secrets to protect."

Harry sighed. "Very well, Fleur, let's say I agree to form a relationship with you. Won't you feel that I'm too young for you?"

Apolline sat back. She knew that Harry didn't want her answering for her daughter. Veela too are unique. Fleur has her own opinions and character. She would have to do the talking from now on.

"Well, 'Arry, we are not even ze same race. Why would I care about your age? Besides, you are arguing against zis. It proves you are mature for your age. You can be my equal."

"Well, like you said, you are different from normal girls. Do you think that you can be a better match for me than those of my own race?"

Harry could tell that he had said something stupid. Fleur's eyes were filling with tears and this time Harry knew for sure that they were because he had hurt her. Her lower lip started trembling. Even in his profound shame, he felt that she looked incredibly cute. He mentally kicked himself, hard.

"I'm sorry, Fleur, I did not mean it like that. I only meant. Er, well, I'm not sure what I meant. I've never had a girlfriend before. I don't even know what I want. Please, don't cry! I didn't mean to hurt you." He looked helplessly at Apolline, who looked at him with a mixture of pity and something else that he hoped wasn't anger.

Apolline, rather than moving to comfort Fleur, moved over to the couch and settled Gabrielle over it, with her head in her lap. Harry realised that it was up to him to clean up this mess. He felt that Apolline was testing him.

Swallowing his awkwardness, he moved to gently hug Fleur, who was trying her best not to completely burst into tears. She was totally different from the confident, almost predatory woman that she was a few minutes ago and Harry felt that he preferred that Fleur over this one any day. He absently noted that he was only a couple of inches shorter than her now. He was still feeling unprepared for the situation as she hugged him back and buried her face into his shoulder, where he could feel her shaking with sobs.

"Er, Fleur?" She twitched her ear against his to show that she was listening and Harry had an insane urge to nibble on it. Control yourself, Potter! He thought. "Please, Fleur, I never meant to hurt you. I think you are the most beautiful woman I've ever met, and I include your mother when I say that." He felt, more than heard, her giggle through her tears and thought, keep going Potter, you're doing something right.

"It's just that, I've never known love in my life. I mean that completely. I never knew my parents' love. For the first eleven years of my life, I never knew the love of a friend, even. I had no idea that such a feeling even existed. I only felt the vaguest memories in my dreams sometimes and I had no idea what I was feeling."

He could feel that she had stopped crying and was listening intently to what he was saying. He ploughed on. Although Ron and Hermione, and lately Tonks, had their suspicions about his past, he had never come out and told anyone this.

"All my life, I've hated my wealth and my fame. I looked into a mirror that showed my heart's desire and it showed me my family. I've always known that that's what I what, someone I could call my own, my family. But I've seen in my short and ridiculously dangerous life that all people want are more of the things they already have. They can never have enough gold; they can never have enough fame. People like Voldemort can never have enough power and my friends and schoolmates can never have enough snogging sessions."

He felt her giggle again and it was like a jolt to his heart. He didn't know if this was a Veela thing or not but he didn't care. He wanted to bare his soul to her. "I've always felt that I was different. I despaired that no one in my life wants that same thing that I do. Even my best friends want different things than I do. Ron only wants to get away from the shadow of his family and Hermione is much closer to us than to her parents. She wants knowledge and she wants to prove herself to the Wizarding world."

Fleur looked up from his shoulder. He could see something in her eyes that frightened and exhilarated him at once. He got the feeling that she wanted to know everything about him.

"I felt very angry at you when I heard of this link, when I heard that you had taken control of it instead of letting it go. All my life, people have made my decisions for me. Voldemort made me lose my parents. Dumbledore chose to make me live with the Dursleys, which I now realise was an eleven year sentence of imprisonment. Year after year, I've been forced to face life-threatening situations when all I wanted was to worry about homework and exams. Last year, I was forced to take part in the Triwizard Tournament, where yet again, I was forced to put my life on the line when all I wanted was to cheer for Cedric Diggory."

Fleur was now trembling again. Her eyes were full of fear and self-loathing as she said "Now, I've taken the most important decision from your hands, your choice of a family."

It was perfectly true. Yet, he didn't want her eyes to look like that. When her eyes filled with tears, Harry found that he'd do anything to stop them. He simply chose to tell her the truth. "It's all right Fleur. I decided long ago that I'd never give up on my dreams, no matter who threw what at me. But it isn't just my desire for a family that defines me. I've never hesitated to do the right thing just because I wasn't satisfied with my life. If I had to leave an innocent girl in danger so that I could choose my own family, then I wouldn't deserve to have one."

He could see the change in her eyes. It amazed him that he could see fear and loathing change into joy and hope when he couldn't even see the crush Ginny had on him a few months ago. "I am sorry to make you cry. I don't know what you expect from me. But whatever it is, I promise to try and give. Will you give me what I want?"

"Oui." It was just a whisper, but Harry saw it confirmed a thousand times in her eyes. Her lips parted and this time, nothing was going to stop him from taking what was, from this second, his.

The instant their lips met, Harry's brain seemed to shut down. His entire vocabulary was thrown out and replaced with one word: hot! Her breath was wondrous; it went straight to his core and heated up his body. He could feel the immense energy in his blood; it was as though he had never been properly alive before this moment. His heart seemed to beat so fast that it felt like a continuous throb. He imagined that he could see miles into her eyes and hear the humming of the universe around him.

Unfortunately, this last fact was confirmed when Harry heard a throat clearing nearby. He reluctantly pulled away from her and quickly averted his eyes. He didn't want to see if her eyes were as full of longing as his own. He was sure that his heart would shatter if it wasn't so. But she seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. She placed a hand on his cheek and forced him to look at her. Her eyes were closer to the inky blue of twilight sky than their usual deep. She confirmed his hopes by quickly pecking him once more before turning to face her mother. Harry thought that the movement belonged on a bird even as his mouth burst with warmth for a second.

Apolline looked strangely satisfied and disappointed at the same time. Had she perhaps hoped that Harry would've ignored her call? Harry fought to keep his laughter inside.

"I see that you've made your decision Harry." Harry merely nodded, not trusting himself to open his mouth yet.

"Then I'll let Fleur apply for a job here. She has decided on a minor curse-breaker position. It is unlikely to have much competition and her reputation as a Triwizard champion should go a long way. The job could always help with her English."

Uncaring of her mother's presence (or perhaps these things were different with Veela, thought Harry) Fleur gave him another searing kiss before taking her leave. The moment she left, Apolline sunk back into the couch as though dealing with her daughter had taken a lot out of her. Not sure whether he could leave or not, Harry sat on a couch across her. He asked her something that had been bothering him all along.

"Apolline, why isn't Mr Delacour here? I gathered that he is a busy man, but surely this was a big decision to make?"

"I assure you Harry, things would have been much more uncomfortable for you if Sebastian had been present. For one, you wouldn't have enjoyed those kisses half as much." She grinned at Harry's furious blush and continued "Also, he isn't totally comfortable with Veela customs and I doubt that he'll ever be."

It made sense to Harry. He wondered how he'd react if such a thing had occurred to his daughter and quickly stopped that line if thought before it got too weird. Geez, Potter, you just got a girlfriend. Slow down already.

"If you're wondering, Harry, Fleur should be back within an hour. I don't expect any competition for her job."

The next few minutes passed in a comfortable silence. Harry frequently glanced at Gabrielle's sleeping form and his heart missed a beat every time. Apolline noticed his glances and raised an eyebrow in question. Harry shook his head, though he was sure that Apolline caught the longing in his eyes before he could smother it.

"You know, Harry, I couldn't really hear what you were saying to Fleur but I've never seen her that close to human after her Veela nature awakened."

Harry was unsure whether to take that as a compliment or not. Apolline laughed, correctly interpreting his expression.

"It is a compliment, Harry. You did mess up a few of my plans, though. No offence, but I did not envision an equal relationship. We Veela are naturally more dominant."

"Wouldn't that hurt your husband's image? I imagine you must host functions in your home for your Ministry."

"Very astute, Harry. We have come up with a way around that. Our marriage is based on the rule 'he who commands in public, obeys in private.' We've never had issues after we came up with that."

Harry blushed as his mind went into overdrive. Potter! You're dating her daughter! He scolded himself.

"Well Apolline, now that Fleur will be staying in England, I am concerned for her safety. I don't know about France, but there is no dearth of bigoted wizards who will shun and ridicule a non-human here. That's not even counting the Death Eaters."

"Well, she was going to find accommodation in Diagon Alley, but if you have any better ideas, I'm ready to hear them."

"That isn't very secure, I'm afraid. I only want to clear one thing, are you definitely offering to help with the war effort?"

"Yes, certainly now that my eldest daughter's life is entangled with your own. However, I'm not sure how much I can tell you. I need to visit the ancient Roosts, which are similar to your libraries and do some research. I may be allowed to tell you my findings now that you are a part of our community but you may not be able to pass on most of the information, without drastic modifications."

Harry thought hard on what he'd learned from his parents "That may work in our favour soon. So you definitely want to help me, if not those with me. In that case, will you allow me to recruit Fleur into the group fighting against Voldemort?"

"Before you answer, Apolline, I want to impress upon you that saying yes to that is not a pre-requisite. Even if you say no, I can ensure that Fleur gets to stay where I'm thinking."

"Harry, I know my daughter. She does not do things half-way. Since she's with you, she'd definitely want to hunt down any threats to you and I for one dare not stand in her way."

"Well, I must ask what you expect from me. Do I have to brush up my public-relations skills? On a related note, should I reveal my relationship to others? It might turn ugly if word gets out to the Prophet, let alone Voldemort."

"I'll leave that decision to you two. Contrary to what you might assume, I do not totally want to control my daughter's life." Harry blushed on being caught out. "However, it really depends on you. Fleur can handle crowds in her sleep, though she seems strangely vulnerable around you."

A few minutes later, Fleur came inside looking decidedly disgruntled and mumbling under her breath. Gabrielle was awake by now and was trying to teach Harry French, to very limited success. Fleur went straight to her mother and plopped her head on her lap. Without missing a beat, Apolline started to stroke her hair, cooing softly to her. It sounded like birdsong to Harry. Fleur seemed to be calming down rapidly.

"Oh! Maman! I don't know what came over me. I 'ad just got ze job and was coming back 'ere, when I ran into Bill Weesley. 'E was trying to talk to me about something, but I was very snappy. 'E wasn't even acting enthralled. I feel sorry for 'im now."

Apolline laughed "I should have warned you to stay away from wizards for a few hours, my darling. It always happens to Veela when they get into a serious relationship. We are very territorial and subconsciously reject all other male contact for some time before we settle."

"'Arry?" said Gabrielle uncertainly. Fleur and Apolline looked around. Harry was looking at them and he looked like he had a lump in his throat. He said shakily "It's- It's nothing. Nothing."

Fleur decided to let it go for now. She made up her mind to find out later. Apolline, however, knew what it was that he was feeling. He had had the same look when he watched Gabrielle sleep in her lap. In that instant, she made up her mind to find a way to help Harry Potter hunt down Voldemort. She had many Veela to convince, but nothing was going to stop her.

Apolline updated Fleur on the conversation she'd missed, in rapid French. On Harry's request, they invited Tonks inside. She still looked like a relative of the Delacours. Tonks started to apologise for Bill, her fellow British Wizard (who she had seen approaching Fleur near the counter) but Apolline waved her off.

"Everyone, this is Nymphadora Tonks, who prefers to be known by her last name only. She is a part of the group I was taking about."

"Harry, what the hell -"

Harry cut her off. "Well, Tonks, I have some good news. Fleur is ready to join the Order. She is looking for a place to stay. Is Headquarters okay?"

Tonks nodded in resignation and reverted to her usual (though not her actual) form of bubble-gum pink hair and violet eyes. Damn Potter and his schemes, she thought.

"Can you move her in today?" Another nod.

"Don't tell them anything else. Let them assume Bill recruited her. I have a little prank planned."

Tonks' expression was a mixture of apprehension and mischief.

After a few minutes of chitchat, they got up to leave. Apolline got an evil grin on her face as she said "Oh, Tonks, excuse us for a minute, we forgot to tell Harry something."

After she had sealed the door after Tonks, Apolline turned to Harry, with the grin still etched on her face, "Oh, Harry, you forgot to actually acknowledge the link. In fact, that's all you need to do for now to fulfil your part in this. Sebastian can take care of the rest."

Feeling the drum beats of doom somewhere inside, Harry asked "What do I have to do?" Even Fleur didn't seem to know what was coming next.

A few minutes later, Tonks was startled when the door opened with a bang. Apolline and Gabrielle came out holding hands. Gabrielle was skipping merrily and chattering away with her mother. Tonks rued the fact that she had turned down French lessons during Auror training.

Harry and Fleur shuffled out. They both looked shattered, though they would look at each other now and then with an idiotically sappy look on their face (though, truth be told, it looked merely cute on Fleur's face). They both steadfastly avoided looking at anyone else.

Tonks was speculating on what could have happened. If it wasn't for the fact Fleur's mother and younger sister were inside all the time, Tonks would have sworn that the two had shagged or something. She was trying to come up with other plausible explanations but nothing struck her fancy.

They had arrived at the Floo reception hall. Tonks was still pondering when she abruptly tripped over her own feet and crashed into a roughly hewn stone bench when Apolline bent down and kissed Harry's cheek.

"That was wonderful honey. I'll come around as soon as Sebastian has finished with his stuff, which should be in ten days to a fortnight. Be sure that you're ready for it, all right?" Harry gave no sign that anything had happened.

Stumbling upright and massaging her smarting ribs, Tonks growled under her breath "You better have a good explanation, Potter" as she took his hand and whisked him back to Privet Drive.

x-x

AN: Don't kill me! *Hides behind a boulder and peeks out cautiously* He he he. I just had to stop here. The scene got too long for me to write any further. As I indicated (through Apolline) the truth of what happened should come out in almost a fortnight in story time, which should be the chapter after the next (though you're welcome to guess *evil grin*). Next chapter will be huge, as Harry arrives at the Order and interacts with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Sirius, Remus and the whole crowd. I'll be cementing Harry's changes in character in the next chapter. I'll start writing as soon as I post this so it should be ready in a couple of days. Once again, I apologise for the long delay and I'll make up for it by making the next couple of chapters quick. I also plan to move the story along a bit faster. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. By the way, did I get Fleur's French accent right? I'm not sure. I'd appreciate comment on that.


	7. Chapter 07: Court in the Order

Chapter 7 – Court in the order

AN: Responding to rather concerned reviews from a few readers; let me assure you that the ship is not going to be S-M, dominating, abusive or any such bullshit. You'll understand when you're older (i.e. when you read the later chapters :P)

_Its plot is as leaky as aged Swiss cheese;_

_Its story is as shaky as wobbly old knees;_

_I wish it was mine; I could really make it shine!_

_The series that captured the Earth wards._

How's the disclaimer? Now that that's out of the way, onward to chapter seven! ;)

x-x

Looking back, Harry always felt that the summer before his fifth year was the most memorable one in his school days. It was an intense month following what he had nicknamed 'The Delacour Detonator' (after the Decoy Detonators that Fred and George Weasleys later developed). Harry was fluctuating between feeling nausea-inducing giddiness and typical teenage terror. Giddy because he was in a relationship with Fleur Delacour, the Veela, who was insanely beautiful; terrified because he was in a relationship with Fleur Delacour the VEELA, who he had no idea how to please (initially) and who had decidedly unique expectations from a boyfriend. Nevertheless, he had enjoyed that summer more than any other.

x-x

Harry's transfer to the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix was eccentric, to say the least. Tonks had appeared on the morning of the third of August.

Harry had led her up to his room and swiftly held her at wand point before she could react.

"What was on the back of my robes yesterday?"

Tonks gulped. There was only one way to prove that she was the real thing. Unfortunately, her answer would confirm to Harry that she had been behind the prank, or at least had been aware of it.

"The Valentine Ginny Weasley wrote to you in her first year." replied Tonks, handing Harry a note that read '_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place'._

"All right Tonksie. After you." said Harry, pointing at the fireplace. He had such a disturbing grin on his face that Tonks felt uneasy turning her back on him. She swallowed her apprehension and swiftly stepped through.

Harry waited a minute for her to get out of the way and followed her. The room where he came out was so dark and gloomy that Harry's survival instincts kicked in. Without even being fully aware of what he was doing, Harry raised his wand to stun Tonks.

Harry was even more alarmed when he was silently and efficiently disarmed before he could utter a syllable. Putting in a brave face, Harry turned to face the other occupants of the room and found himself staring at his godfather and Fleur.

Sirius had a completely understanding look on his face as he handed Harry back his wand. Still unsure of the situation, but taking that as a good sign, Harry turned to face Fleur.

Somehow, he knew that she was the real thing. No words were needed. No gestures were exchanged. When his eyes met hers, they instantly lit up. An unspoken decision was made not to reveal their relationship, yet. They had a fortnight till Apolline got here and like all new couples, they wanted to savour it in secret for some time.

"Hi Sirius, Fleur. Please excuse my reaction. This place gives me the creeps."

"Welcome to the ancestral home of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, Harry" said Sirius with a look on his face that clearly showed everyone what exactly he thought of his house.

"Efforts are being undertaken, however, to make this place more, er, inviting and in general more habitable." said Remus Lupin, who entered the room and put a calming hand on Sirius' shoulder. It seemed to Harry that being forced to take refuge here, of all places, was taking a hard toll on Sirius.

Harry too moved to Sirius to show his support. He had learnt all about the Black family and Sirius running away from Tonks.

"Cheer up, Sirius, the house of Black has its fair share of honourable members." Harry showed him the Black family ring on his finger as he said this.

Sirius nodded with a stony face. Without warning, he drew Harry into a tight embrace that told him that Sirius was glad of his presence in more ways than one. Over Sirius' shoulder, Harry saw Fleur giving him a glowing look, her position ensuring that only he caught it. Harry gave her a warm smile in return.

"'Arry it is so nice to see you again." She gave him a hug and kissed him on each cheek. His face burning, Harry managed to smile without looking too goofy. He still wasn't used to her touch. It was very different from Hermione's or Tonks'. Harry wouldn't have been surprised to find that steam had actually come out of his ears when she had kissed him like that after the Second Task.

The group moved out of the Floo chamber into a large meeting hall. The walls were lined with life-size portraits of the Black family members. Each one had a silver plaque below that stated the name of the person and the year of birth and death. Harry noted that there were no portraits of any Blacks still alive, like Sirius, Andromeda or even Narcissa and Bellatrix. For the women, the last name of the person was added after their full birth name. Harry realised this from the portrait of one Valencia Black-Malfoy who had lived from 1816 to 1869. It seemed that most old pureblood families had married into each other more than once. Depending on the century, some of the portraits were plain muggle ones. The later ones were the magical type.

All the furnishings and frames were adorned with snakes, fangs and claws. The décor was dark, brooding and intimidating. Harry felt that growing up here might have been worse than growing up with the Dursleys and that was saying something.

Apart from that, the once opulent house was slowly being taken over by mold and decay. Whatever effort Remus was talking about was not nearly enough, apparently.

Hearing the name 'Harry' uttered was like a catalytic. All the people present in the hall looked around and Harry was engulfed by hugs, kisses and greetings. Apolline had explained that once Harry had acknowledged the link, his own magic didn't see such contact as threats anymore.

"Oh Harry! I'm so glad you're finally here! Did you find my book on underage laws useful?"

"Harry, mate, it's good to have you back. I heard that you gone one over Fudge! Well done!"

"It's nice to see that you're looking well, Harry." That was Bill.

Fred and George simply nudged him and winked. They'd have their conversation at a quieter time.

Harry noticed that Ginny had hung back a little. When Harry caught her eye, she smiled in welcome. Harry smiled back. Hopefully, Ginny had overcome her crush on him and they could become friends. She'd know soon enough that Harry was out of her reach though. He hoped that she wouldn't take it too hard.

"Where is everyone else?" queried Harry.

"There's a meeting going on and everyone is attending it. In fact we'll have to join them soon."

Fleur jumped at the chance. "Mr Black, I can show 'Arry to his room."

Bill raised an eyebrow in question. Fleur met his gaze head on. In just the single day she'd been here, Bill had been constantly trying to chat her up. He seemed to think that just because he was more resistant to her aura than most people, he was entitled to date her. Fleur might have considered the challenge in other circumstances.

"I wish to catch up with 'Arry."

"I didn't know you two were close."

Oh, you have no idea, thought Harry. "We were fellow champions Bill. We have to talk about Ced- Cedric." Harry replied, with just the right amount of hesitation and regret.

When everyone was trying to avoid each other's eyes, Fleur and Harry sneaked a glance at each other. Fleur looked a bit surprised at his clever ruse, but then she got a sad look in her eyes. Harry realised that Cedric really was going to be a part of their conversation.

Tonks looked understanding. Harry knew exactly what she was thinking about.

x-x

Back in Tonks' house, after her parents had left them alone to talk, they had covered many things and Cedric Diggory was one such topic.

"During all my previous encounters with Voldemort, all I'd wanted was to escape with my life and make sure all my friends did too. But this time, he went too far. He had no reason to hurt Cedric. Cedric was just there, in the wrong place; at the wrong time. This time, I didn't just want to run. I wanted to hurt Voldemort; I wanted to kill him, though I knew that I had no chance in a duel with him."

"Harry, with the way things had been going on in your life, sooner or later you'd have had to face the death of someone you know; someone on your side. As an Auror, I've had to face that too."

"Wh- Who was it?"

"It was a woman named Mary Sue. She was a muggle-born witch, a fully qualified Auror. The Auror forces are one of the rare places in the Ministry where it's hard to find blood prejudices; if you are good enough in skill, you will be accepted and respected."

Harry was listening intently.

"She was like an elder sister to me. Aurors form quick and even hard-to-explain friendships due to the pressures of their job. She protected me a bit from the jerking around the newbies are treated to, though she didn't completely shield me as it was one of their customary trials to see if we were good enough to belong."

Tonks paused. Even now, she didn't like remembering that day. But Harry needed this.

"I will never forget that day. It started just like an ordinary day. I had just finished the day's physical training and duelling drills and was entering the Auror lounge. It's a small space at the center of the Auror cubicles where a few comfortable sofas and chairs were placed; where Aurors could chill and catch up with each other. Mary and I used to meet at this place a lot; it wasn't pre-arranged, we just happened to have matching, er, internal-clocks."

"Circadian Rhythms?" prodded Harry.

By now, Tonks had stopped getting surprised at Harry's knowledge. She realised that Harry unconsciously held himself back at Hogwarts. She had no idea why, though she suspected that it had something to do with the Dursleys.

"Yes. Anyway, she Apparated in like she usually did, only she was covered in blood and gasping in pain. She just barely just managed to choke out the words "Morning.. Alley raid.. Captured.." before she died right in my arms.

"I later found out that she had been separated from the other Aurors during a surprise raid for Dark Artifacts in Knocturn Alley. She was overpowered by a group of thugs and they had decided to have a little fun and get revenge for all the people the Aurors had put in Azkaban."

"Having been tortured not so expertly for hours, she had been near death and had somehow managed to Apparate right into the lounge, bypassing all our protections. Department of Mysteries is still looking at how she'd managed it."

"Anyway, I was feeling just like you do now. I wanted to get back on those bastards for what they had done to an honest woman merely doing her job; for what they had done to my friend. Every Auror goes through this situation sometime or the other. I'm passing on to you what my fellow Aurors passed on to me."

"There are many reasons to try and exact revenge. In some cases it might even be justified. I believe it would be justified in your case and I believe it will be justified in mine. However, there could be many more reasons where it is not possible. Your morals may prevent it. You may not be strong enough. You many just never get the knowledge or opportunity to carry out your revenge."

"However, Harry, there is one sure-shot way to spit in the eye of the people responsible. You can recover from what happened. You needn't let Cedric Diggory die in vain. Remember him. Live your life to the fullest, as how I'm sure Cedric would have wanted. Fight for his ideals, which I'm use are similar to yours. Then, you can truly bring justice to his killers."

It was very much the same as what his parents and told him. It helped Harry even more to have their words confirmed by someone who had went through things like he had and recovered from it. That was the conversation after which there had been a shift in their friendship, when Harry has seen her as something closer to an elder sister.

x-x

Harry was glad that Tonks understood. He had promised to tell her first when he got a girlfriend and he fully intended to keep that promise. He was just not ready to reveal it yet.

Ron, predictably, was looking like he had no idea how to react. He was rowing back and forth on his toes, looking from Harry to Fleur and back again. However, he trusted Harry enough not to interfere.

Surprisingly, it was Hermione who seemed to have the most doubt about this. "I don't know Harry. Are you ready for this? You only just dealt with all that yourself, as far as I know. It might be too soon." Harry thought that she didn't suspect anything between them, but was just concerned about Harry's well-being.

Before Harry could reply, Sirius came to his rescue. "It's all right, Hermione. I trust Harry. Besides, whatever happens, know that I'll be here for you, Harry."

Harry felt a rush of gratitude for Sirius and felt immensely guilty about deceiving them all. Fleur brushed his arm with hers for just a moment and Harry felt a bit better. He nodded at Sirius, not trusting himself to speak.

Before he knew it, the two of them had been had been left alone as everyone found their way to their rooms. Sirius had insisted that they each had their own room, by arguing that this place had more than enough rooms for all of them and it made no sense to waste so much space.

Glancing around once to make sure everyone was gone, Fleur had the slightest of naughty smiles on her face (between Fred and George and Tonks and even Sirius, Harry had become very good at recognizing naughty smiles) as she took Harry's hand. Forgetting all about Cedric for a minute, they ran up the stairs like little kids and found Harry's room. They stopped outside a large door. It had a silver plaque that read "Harry Potter, Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble house of Black"

"Mr Black told me zat zis room used to belong to 'is younger brother, Regulus. Now zat you wear the 'eir ring, 'e thought you should get an important room."

The room was spacious. It was slightly bigger than his dormitory in Hogwarts and that accommodated four people. There was a huge four-poster bed, a dressing table with a full length mirror and a huge walk-in closet. There was a table and a couple of chairs against one wall. All the wood was a highly polished dark teak. The furnishings were completely Slytherin in nature.

Harry and Fleur sat on the edge of his bed. They were both feeling slightly nervous at being in a room with no one else present.

"Well, things didn't go as well as I thought." said Harry, opening up the conversation.

Fleur took his hand. "I thought you were very clever. 'Arry, I was a bit closer to Cedric than you were as I was closer to 'is age. 'E was a very nice guy. 'E never looked at Krum and me as foreigners."

"Like Professor Dumbledore said, he was the very embodiment of Hufflepuff House, you know. He was all about fair play. I was at first very jealous of him, even more so when he got together with Cho Chang."

At Fleur's questioning look, he added "I had a slight crush on her."

Fleur giggled. "You're telling zat to me? Oh, 'Arry, you 'ave a lot to learn."

Harry shrugged. It wasn't like he was planning to get together with her. He leaned in close "It's not like I'm regretting anything though. I'm happy with the way things turned out."

Fleur rushed forward to meet his lips. Harry shivered in pleasure and tried to deepen the kiss, but Fleur drew back.

"Since we're being honest" she started, looking at him through her eye-lashes "I will say that I had no crush on Cedric. 'E was too nice."

Harry smirked "So you don't like nice guys? Is that a Veela thing?"

"Oh no, some of my cousins would 'ave loved to get their 'ands on 'im. A chance to show an innocent man the ways of a Veela; 'e would 'ave been irresistible."

Harry had a sad smile on his face "I'm sure Cedric wouldn't have had the heart to say no, if they had got to him first."

Fleur giggled "I cannot believe we are taking about 'im like zis."

"Tonks told me the best way to honour his memory would be to remember him fondly and live our lives to the fullest. I think it is good advice."

Fleur thought about it and then nodded. "You two are close, yes?"

Harry recognised the unspoken question in her eyes. Would he have gone for her, had things been different?

"I think of her as my elder sister. She was there for me at a critical time in my life. I think that helped us get close very fast. I didn't want to admit this to myself, but I think she has become my closest confidant. Ron and Hermione have been with me through a lot, but I never opened up to them emotionally."

Fleur had a mischievous look on her face. "I'm sure that they don't mind 'aving time to themselves. You might be getting in their way."

Harry laughed "That obvious, is it? Still, they don't seem to have realised it yet."

Fleur started shaking with laughter. Putting a finger on her lips, she drew her wand and flicked it at the door. Unable to hold it in any longer, she started laughing uncontrollably. It was infectious.

"I believe those two are outside the door right now, trying to listen in."

Harry's laughter dried up in a flash. "I thought those two trusted me!" he shouted.

Fleur squeezed his hand, which she hadn't let go of. Harry calmed down immediately. He realised that she had some influence over his emotions, though she had never tried to take advantage of it yet.

"I'm sure that zey are only looking out for you, 'Arry. But Hermione, especially, seems to think I am a big, bad Veela who wants to ensnare you in 'er clutches."

Harry grinned and kissed her. "I wonder how she'll react when she finds out that her assumptions were correct."

Fleur gave him a haughty look. It reminded Harry of the first time he had seen her. "So I 'ave ensnared you, 'ave I?" Her irritation lasted only a moment. "Really, 'Arry, why are you so okay with this? I 'ave taken an important choice away from you."

Harry shook his head. It still amazed him that she was concerned about his feelings. "You are going against your very nature and trying your best to keep our relationship equal. I know how hard it is not to simply take what you want. Let me assure you, Fleur, I do not regret how this happened. I will do my best to be a good partner. It is the right thing to do. Besides, I'm starting to like you." he finished with a grin.

Fleur's eyes glinted. Harry was coming to realise that it was her Veela nature emerging. His heartbeat rose in response. "Let me speed up the process, 'Arry." She said throatily and captured his lips with hers.

x-x

A few days later, Harry was looking forward to dinner as usual in Grimmauld Place. It was truly a reward sitting down to Mrs Weasley's excellent cooking after a day of hard work making the house fit for human habitation. That day, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had been kept busy dusting off books from the Black library and cleaning the place up of any unsavoury elements. Remus had been resting after the recent full moon and had been assigned to watch over them in case the books tried to bite, strangle or otherwise endanger the health of the handler.

Harry was taking a few minutes break after taking a nasty nip from a dodgy looking book named '_Blood Rituals: How to keep your Ward away from Unwanted Company'_. Harry had tried to attack Hermione after that. Thankfully, Remus had stunned him before he could draw his wand.

Not knowing how to counter the effects, Remus had settled for sending everyone else out to find something to do till the curse wore off. He was keeping Harry immobilised and checking every few minutes if the curse was still active.

Harry was free to talk, however. "So Remus, Tonks is getting pretty chuffed that you still don't want to meet her folks."

Remus groaned. "I swear, Harry, you are too much like James for your own good. For one, I don't think her parents would be too pleased to find out that their daughter is dating a werewolf. Next, I'll thank you to mind your own bloody business."

Harry laughed. The closer he got to Remus, the more comfortable the latter had become around him. "I would if Tonks didn't keep complaining about it to me every chance she gets. I can't even have a proper conversation with her. At least tell everyone else so that she can bother other people about it."

"Oh! And here I thought you were going to defend her honour and convince me of the wonder that she is!"

Harry got serious "Fun aside Remus, Tonks is a really wonderful person. Though she tries to play it down, you trying to deny your own worth is really bothering her a lot. Believe me when I say that she won't be able to take that stupid attitude of yours for much longer. She needs someone who is comfortable in their own skin."

Remus took offence to that. "When did you start talking for Tonks?"

Harry really felt that Tonks deserved better but decided to back off, for now. "Just think about what I said, all right? Now can you check to see if that effing curse has worn off? I don't fancy spending the rest of my life trying to attack Hermione." Privately, Harry decided to talk to Sirius later so that they could gang up on Remus if he dragged this on for too long.

"Don't worry Harry, even if the curse was designed to last long, the latent magic in that book would have dissipated over the years, so I'll be surprised if it lasts for even half an hour." Sure enough, the curse had worn off.

Remus went off to find the others and drag them back to work. Molly had taken it as a personal mission to see to it that this house was made safe and would not be pleased at yet another setback. Harry could've sworn that she had been more upset at the delay due to Mundungus being almost strangled to death by a pair of robes than at the fact that his life was in danger. However, she did not approve of Mundungus one bit, so who knows.

Harry was idly wishing that Fleur didn't have to be at Gringotts for most of the day. But then again, she had taken the job so that she could spend time with him (frequent long-distance Floo or Apparition was harmful even to Veela, it seemed) so Harry distracted himself by contemplating the mysteries of life.

His musings were interrupted when Remus returned with Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Remus was heroically trying to supress a smile. Hermione approached him hesitantly. Harry smiled at her and rose. When she stopped next to him, he suddenly lunged at her, causing her to scream shrilly. Harry caught her in a hug and shouted "Gotcha!"

Hermione laughed, half annoyed and half embarrassed. Ron shot him a look that clearly told Harry that he didn't find it funny. Behind their backs, Ginny was biting her knuckles so that she wouldn't laugh out loud. Harry wondered why she found it so funny. Needless to say, they didn't finish with the library that evening.

x-x

A few days later, the usual summer letters from Hogwarts arrived during lunch. Mr Weasley had left for work and Bill and Remus had already left on Order business; in fact Harry hadn't seen Remus since the day he had talked to him about Tonks and wasn't even sure if he was staying here.

Fleur left for work at different times. When Hermione had asked her about this, she had explained that she was just assisting various wizards and Goblins and learning the ropes. She would be informed each day who she would be assisting the next day and when to come for work. She was never kept under the same being more than two days; it seemed to be some weird rite of passage into the halls of steady employees. Today, she had a day off.

The letters contained the booklists, of which there were only two new ones for the fifth years. Hermione was surprised to find a Prefect badge along with her letter.

Harry had his left ear temporarily deafened as Hermione squealed in glee "Oh, this is wonderful! I simply must tell my parents! This is one of the few things they would completely understand!"

Mrs Weasley beamed at her. "Congrats, dear! You can pop by after lunch if you want, though I must insist on accompanying you for safety." Hermione nodded vigorously.

Harry shouted (due to the fact that he couldn't hear out of one ear) "Way to go, 'Mione!" which was repeated by Ron, Fleur and Ginny.

Sirius added "Yes, congrats, Hermione. I'm not surprised, though. Dumbledore would have to be barmy to select anyone else."

The twins were staring at her in horror. Harry could tell that it wasn't mock horror; it would be very difficult to maintain their lifestyles with Hermione on their case.

Lunch was further disrupted when another Prefect badge was found, this time in Ron's envelope.

"Oh Ronnie this is wonderful!" Mrs Weasley shouted; her tone identical to Hermione's. "Another Prefect in the family! You could go on to become Head Boy like Bill!" She very carefully did not mention Percy; his desertion of his family was still an extremely touchy subject. "We are all so proud of you, Ron, I'm sure Arthur would agree!"

Ginny maintained a carefully neutral look on her face even as Fred put his two knuts in "Not us Ronniekins. George and I are going to tell everyone that we don't know who you are. We've spent the past five years denying to everyone that you are our brother."

Everyone could tell that he was only joking. Everyone but Mrs Weasley, it seemed. "Shut your mouth, Fred! Your younger brother has chosen to make something of his life. I'll not have you two putting ideas into his head."

This was quickly turning into a family argument. Harry exchanged uneasy glances with Hermione and Fleur and they wisely decided to keep out of it.

The twins were usually fun loving and amiable but they defended their ambitions with the typical Weasley temper.

George snapped back "Excuse us, but Fred and I aren't going to sit around and take it if you try and shove aside our wishes and opinions as insignificant!"

Mrs Weasley had forgotten all about discretion and tact by now "You two are wasting your life pulling pranks on everyone. You better buck up and see about getting some NEWTS if you want a proper Wizarding future. Why don't you learn something from your brother here?"

Sirius decided to intervene "Now, now, Molly. Not all of us are destined for an academic future. You must agree that Fred and George are really talented on their own way. I for one feel that they can make quite a successful future developing their gifts."

Everyone winced in apprehension. Mrs Weasley was not going to take this well. "I'm sorry, Sirius, but do you think what's good for my sons better than I do? I don't think you could have picked up parenting tips in Azkaban."

Harry had had enough. Besides, he had made a promise with the twins to put in a word for them. He rued the fact that Mr Weasley wasn't here. Things wouldn't have escalated so much if he had been present. Well, it was now or never.

"Mrs Weasley! You are a guest in this house. I cannot let you insult Sirius like that!"

She turned to him with a shocked look that was reflected on every face except Fleur's, who did not fully understand the significance of what had just happened.

Hermione started indignantly "Harry! You can't talk to Mrs Weasley like that!"

Harry silently held up his hand to interrupt her, simultaneously willing the Black Heir ring and its crest to become visible to everyone. Hermione gasped as she understood the implications of its presence.

Harry turned to Mrs Weasley "Putting that aside, I too feel that Fred and George, just like everyone else, have the right to choose what they want to do with their lives. Besides, even if I didn't, do you think it is going to stop them?"

Mrs Weasley was rapidly regaining her power of speech. Harry went on before she could start on him; he felt that he might lose his nerve if she shouted at him too.

"I have always thought of you Weasleys as the closest thing I had to a family and it had nothing to do with the fact that there are two Head Boys in it. I think you should support the twins with their career choices. Would you rather have them making shady deals with people like Mundungus in order to fund their future?"

Mrs Weasley turned livid at the mere mention of him. "I think that they might already be doing something like that. How else are they finding ingredients to make their trick sweets and candies and whatnot with? I don't want them going down that road. It will only hurt them in the long run. I'm frankly ashamed at you for encouraging such things and I'm sure your parents would have been too."

Before Harry could say anything, Fleur had gripped his hand tightly under the table. She snapped at Mrs Weasley in an equally livid tone "Mon Dieu! 'Ow can you be so insensitive? 'Arry was simply looking out for 'is friends! 'E is much more appreciative of your sons than you are! And you respond to zat by insulting his parents' memory? I am not sure I want to be part a group that 'as such idiotic people!"

Harry stroked her hand under the table while shooting her a placating look. She instantly calmed down. It looked like he too could influence her emotions to a degree.

Harry turned to Mrs Weasley and ignored the curious and even suspicious looks pretty much everyone. He said calmly "My parents" he paused, making sure that he had her full attention, "would have been proud that their son chose to stand up for his friends, even against their mother, whom he liked and respected immensely. Having given their very lives for their son without hesitation, I'm afraid they would have thought much less of you, as you won't even give up your doubts and prejudices and trust your own sons! Especially as you have had the chance to actually raise them and get to know their admirable character."

Mrs Weasley backtracked "It's not like I think they'd immediately jump into any suspicious activity. It's just that they are a bit reckless and I know how determined that they can get. I was afraid they may end up having no choice as I cannot properly support them, regardless of my wishes."

Harry looked at her in disappointment. "You could have discussed this with them like one adult to another instead of shooting down their dreams! You have certainly noticed that they are now of age, considering the fact that you have been berating them to act like adults every chance you get! Did it have to fall to me to point you in the right direction?"

Ginny, Hermione, Ron and even the twins were gaping at him. When had Harry become like this? Sirius had an extremely proud look on his face. Harry had to fight hard not to grin at him and ruin everything.

Mrs Weasley had abruptly gone from angry and defensive to nervous and unsure. She looked close to tears. "I- I didn't want to give them false hopes." Harry jerked his head towards the twins. Mrs Weasley turned to them with an apologetic look on her face. "I know that you two are really talented. You, g-get it from me, you know."

To say that everyone was shocked did not scratch the surface. There were no words to describe the look on the twins' face. Two identical looks of disbelief were combined with dawning looks of realisation as to why so many of their pranks on their mother had failed. They were angrier than ever with their mother for discouraging them, but were also curious to know why; after all, she hadn't even shot down Percy's traitorous ambitions this hard.

Harry got up to leave and give the Weasleys some privacy. He pulled Fleur along with him. They were joined in a few moments outside the kitchen by Sirius and Hermione. Harry looked inside and saw that no one except Ginny had even noticed their absence. She shot him a grateful look. Harry nodded and silently closed the door. Sirius and Hermione were so dazed at the turn of events that the simply went up to their rooms to recover. Neither of them noticed Fleur's hand in his.

x-x

Inside the kitchen (there were too few people usually present at lunch to justify using the main dining hall) Mrs Weasley smiled tremulously as she explained "I too wasn't really interested in school. I wanted to develop my own range of cosmetic potions and other such objects for witches. My parents encouraged me. I got my hopes up and tried to start my own business, but the sad truth was that we didn't have enough money or reputation with most pure-blooded families for me to make my business a success. I ended up making my family poorer than they already were. I took me years to give up my dreams and face reality, by which time I had ruined my chance to improve my grades and try and get a normal job."

The Weasleys were listening intently. Their mother definitely hadn't told them about this part of her life before marriage. "One of the most important reasons I loved your father then was that he was with me every step of the way. He even went against your Great Aunt Muriel's wishes and secretly gave me some of his family's money, though they weren't as wealthy as they once were. It just wasn't enough. On the whole, it is the one thing in my life that I seriously regret. I had damaged both our families just because I couldn't take my head out of the clouds. I thought it better to dissuade you two now. Make no mistake; I don't mind giving up my last robe to support you two, but I don't want you two to end up regretting anything."

There was a chorus of "Oh! Mum!" in two shaky voices and in the next instant, the twins were locked in a fierce embrace with their mother, all three with tears down their faces.

Mrs Weasley's voice was thick as she continued "Arthur wants to give you two a chance, he has a bit of money saved up from his work. He thinks that you might have better luck as the times are different now that pure-bloods cannot openly reveal their prejudice against us. But I know that it is a deep-rooted fault in our society that'll outlast You-Know-Who himself. The best I can do for now is to keep you all safe and fight with Professor Dumbledore so that this world can get better someday."

The next few minutes were spent in silent tears as the Weasley children uncovered layers of their mother's character that they never knew she had.

George started hesitantly "Mum, Fred and I didn't know how to tell you this, but we already have some gold, enough to get supplies and do research for the next year and even to get premises for a store in Diagon Alley."

Molly Weasley bit back a number of things that an hour ago, she would have screamed out without hesitation. She merely asked "How?"

The twins exchanged a glance. It wasn't their secret to reveal. But then, after everything Harry had said today, they were sure that he wouldn't mind his hand being revealed. That was, of course, after they realised with a start that Harry and the other three non-Weasleys had left. Even Ron and Ginny were curious.

"Harry gave it to us."

"Oh Harry!" She exclaimed, looking at the seat that he had occupied. She, along with Ron, then realised that they had been given privacy in the rare moment of Weasley emotional vulnerability. She started crying again when she remembered how she had attacked and tried to hurt people who had only tried to help her family. Never again will she do such a thing, she decided.

Ron asked a question he never would have asked had anyone outside his family been present. "How- How much did he give?" He was desperately hoping that it would be an amount that his family could hope to repay in a reasonable number of years. So was his mother, though a part of her knew that it wouldn't be possible, remembering her own ventures into private business.

"A thousand Galleons." Fred whispered, just now realising the full impact this would have on his family.

"Oh Fred! It is way too much! How could you accept it? You should have realised that we'd never be able to repay him!"

"Actually, Mum, you might realise that if we can get our business off the ground, we can repay him many times over." Fred replied.

George hastily added "But that's not it. We did try to refuse. It was his Triwizard winnings. He of course knew about our plans. He said that the gold had too many unpleasant memories associated with it. He just wanted to get rid of it."

Fred chuckled. Harry had known exactly how to make them accept it. "He threatened to just throw the bag down a drain unless we took it. Harry certainly knew how to push our buttons."

Ron and Ginny grinned. Trust Harry to know the Weasleys' weaknesses.

Mrs Weasley was still worried. "You kids may not believe this, but Arthur will take this even harder than I did. He always prided himself on being a man who provides for his family. He may understand why Harry did it and why you accepted, but his pride will make it very difficult for him to simply accept this."

Ron thought hard about this. Even his pride was rebelling against Harry's generosity, insisting on seeing it as a gesture of pity. He realised that he may have got that from his father. If so, he might just know how to break this to him.

"Mum, do you know about the Mirror of Erised?"

They all looked at him, curious at the abrupt change of topic. None of them knew what he was talking about.

"It is a powerful magical artefact that shows a person their heart's deepest desire. Harry and I found it at Hogwarts in our first year, though Dumbledore removed it later." Ron couldn't help smirking at the twins, who looked shocked, then jealous and finally proud that their kid brother had followed in their footsteps and had even made his own path.

"When I looked into it, I saw myself getting fame and glory, beyond any Weasley had ever gotten before." They looked understanding. It was a basic desire of all the Weasleys. "At that time, I saw myself as Head Boy, Quidditch Captain, winning the House and Quidditch Cup." He smiled sadly "I think I might see something else now."

The others grinned. They had an idea what, or rather who, Ron was talking about.

Ron shook his head to bring himself back to the present. "But Harry told me what he saw and I'm pretty sure he'd see the same thing now. He saw himself with his family."

Ginny knew where her brother was going with this and waited for him to continue. "I know that Harry sees us, and now Sirius and Remus, as the closest thing he has to a family. He would give up all the gold in his vault to actually be part of a family who considered him as part of their own. A thousand Galleons doesn't even compare."

"If we refused his help, Harry would be hurt a lot worse than by any Cruciatus You-Know-Who puts on him. I think Dad will understand and swallow his pride."

Ginny hated to even think it, but she had to accept that her brother had made her proud. She hoped to understand Harry as much someday.

"I think your father can live with that."

x-x

Fleur had taken Harry up to her room this time. It was on the same landing as Harry's, along with the rooms of everyone else except Sirius'. His was the master Suite on the floor above this one.

In just a few days, Harry could tell that she had remodelled quite a bit. Harry felt that he was not in the same house any more. Being able to do magic must be quite useful, he thought, as he looked around.

It basically had the same things as his room, a huge bed, a table, couple of chairs and a couch. In contrast, however, the entire place was almost glowing in brightness. The walls were a light cream; the curtains, bedcovers and sofa cushions were a warm peach; Even the wood of the table and chairs was holly.

Of course, the dressing table and closet had a decidedly feminine design. The latter was open and Harry blushed at the sight of her unmentionables. His mind immediately brought up possible images of hoe she might look in those and the blush spread down his neck.

Fleur noticed his lack of coherence and silently closed the closet door. When she turned and took his hand, she had the grin on her face that Harry had dubbed the 'Veela grin'. Considering the other times that particular grin came up, Harry had to focus to keep his mind from shutting down in a mess of apprehensive delight.

"I 'ave never seen you so intense before. Like you were when you were putting Mrs Weesly in 'er place. You looked very, ah, sexy." Fleur said the last word in a husky whisper that instantly charged him up with lust.

Harry decided that he had never seen anything as beautiful as her, and never would. She seemed to draw his eye at once; the rest of the world faded away into nothing as he urgently tried to memorise every shining hair on her head and every inch of her skin. Her eyes were oceans of promise that he could lose himself forever in.

She then proceeded to confirm her opinion of him in many wonderful ways. Harry's tongue was burning from her taste and her skin seemed to radiate heat wherever he touched it. Far from being uncomfortable, Harry revelled in the heat of her essence. When her lips left his and trailed down the side of his jaw, Harry felt sure that she was leaving flaming trails in her path.

Turnabout is fair play decided Harry and pressed his lips to the delicate spot where her jaw met her cute ear that responded to his touch. Harry nearly fainted at the sensation. He felt that what met his lips couldn't possibly be skin; it was so soft that Harry thought this must be how it felt to touch a cloud. Then he delicately nibbled on the spot, half-afraid that her skin would simply melt in his mouth. All thought vanished from his mind as his primal side took over.

A few minutes later, Fleur gently pushed him back and it was like he was slowly remembering an existence in which things other than her pale glowing skin and shining silver hair could be seen. It was a harsh place where everything was much harder than her soft pink lips, rougher than her fair skin; altogether a much colder place than her consuming heat. For a minute, Harry simply wanted to escape this miserable place and go back to her blissful arms.

Fleur patiently stoked his cheek until Harry's perception grew close to normal. "Careful 'Arry. We cannot overdo it. Remember what mother said. You will stop responding to anything and anyone else if we do not get you slowly used to my body."

Harry nodded. Apolline had warned them both not to rush into anything as the effects could be fairly disastrous for Harry.

"Speaking of Apolline, how are things in France?"

"Things are moving slower than expected. The appropriate documents and more importantly, the change in the magical registry of the Veela, are proof enough for most of 'is friends and contacts in the Ministry, but there is a significant group zat refuses to accept the fact without more tangible proof. They can only 'old out for so long and will give in only just before the majority have been forced to face the truth."

Harry nodded. These were mostly the group of people who resisted change of any sort and people like them existed in all organisations. If it came to it, Harry will simply have to appear before them to rub it in their faces, after which they wouldn't be able to delude themselves any longer. Before that, Harry wanted to reveal his relationship to his friends here and hopefully get their support.

"So, mother will be coming here only a few days before September, so we can continue our secret, er, tryst, is it, for a bit longer." She grinned at the end, revealing her perfect white teeth. Before he could stop himself, Harry had kissed her again and the world faded out faster as he quivered in pleasure.

Fleur pushed him off and for good measure, immobilised him too. Harry shook his head "Sorry, Fleur. You were too irresistible."

Fleur smiled "I'm flattered. Don't worry, Harry, you will slowly get more resistant to my thrall. Though your senses will experience no less, your mind will remain more and more in control."

Harry sighed. A part of him was angry with himself every time he lost control, but even he could see he was getting better. The first time he had gone beyond a kiss, Fleur had kept him frozen for fifteen minutes before he could even speak. The infamous Veela thrall was but a feeble projection of what she actually felt like, and that too was only the visual part of it. Fleur had told him that powerful Veela could even project a hint of the other sensations and people could go mad with lust just from being near them. Harry shuddered at even the thought of it.

"So how long do you want to keep this a tryst, beautiful?"

"I leave the decision in your capable 'ands, 'Arry. I want to make up for making you lose control every time we explore each other."

"You are trying so hard to keep this equal Fleur. I don't want you to totally deny your Veela nature. If you ever feel like standing up in the dining hall and announcing that you are mine, I don't mind."

"I would rather announce that you belong to me. I feel like doing that every time any woman looks at you."

Harry grinned. He had hoped she would miss that part. "I too want to shout out that I have captured your heart every time Bill tries to chat you up, but I am waiting for a certain event, Fleur. I feel that I can use our relationship as a trump card in making someone I know force their own hand."

"Ah, I like using our relationship as a bargaining chip. You are planning to take advantage on the time limit we 'ave! Not even taking into account the more interesting part! Why, I cannot believe you were placed in the 'ouse of the direct and brave."

"The Sorting Hat did want to place me in Slytherin, but I convinced it otherwise."

"The ultimate deception! Why, 'Arry, I believe that deserves a reward!"

"You just want to kiss me."

"Shall I test your will?"

"Gladly, darling!"

This was one of their favourite games. Fleur leaned in until her lips were an inch from his and blasted him with her full aura. As Harry's will improved, they had moved from how many times Harry had kissed her in a minute to how long it took for Harry to kiss her. This time, he lasted for three minutes and ten seconds, almost half a minute more than the last time.

"My, my, Mr Potter, you are improving in leaps and bounds. I will have to think up additional temptations for you soon."

"Your English is getting better too, Miss Delacour. You have successfully pronounced the 'h', that too subconsciously!" Before, Harry had made her pronounce the 'h's again every time she missed them though he didn't correct the way she said his name. (AN: You didn't expect me to type that, did you? :P)

"Oh, 'Arry, will you not tell your dear girlfriend who is it that you are planning to barter our secret with?"

"Fleur, it is not my secret to tell. I will tell you something about me instead, if you want."

"You are boring!"

"So you do not want to know about the time I killed a Basilisk with a silver sword?"

"Ooooh! Do tell!"

Harry laughed "And what will you tell me in return?"

Fleur thought hard. "I will tell you about the time I first used my thrall to get away from a group of men."

"It's a deal."

x-x

By the time Harry and Fleur and swapped stories, it was almost dinner time. They came down to the dining hall as there had been an Order meeting and some people usually stayed behind for dinner. Today, especially, Harry was sure that some Professors would stay behind to congratulate Ron and Hermione.

The dining table was mostly empty. Harry supposed that the meeting wasn't over yet. Mundungus was dozing near the foot of the table. He must have been sent out for being plastered. Remus was resting a few seats away. He seemed to have just returned from his mission as he was still wearing a threadbare overcoat over some equally shabby and torn robes. A tall, olive skinned woman with dark, curly, shoulder-length hair and a pair of reading glasses was poring over a small book, which on closer inspection seemed to be a muggle romance novel.

Harry took a seat near the head of the table and Fleur decided to sit opposite him this time. Harry was glad to see Remus after almost a week.

"Remus! Tonks! I'm glad to see you two! It's been so long!"

Remus woke up and started. He greeted them back "Fleur, Harry, how're you holding up? As you might realise, I just came back from a mission." Harry had learnt that asking Remus about Order business was futile.

"Wotcher, Harry! How'd you know it was me?"

"I don't know any other witch here who reads trashy romance novels."

Tonks looked mildly offended. Harry laughed. "Just kidding. It's just the way you're holding yourself."

"You can tell just from that?" Harry nodded. Actually, there was a small birthmark on the corner of her lips that Tonks always forgot to change, but Harry had enough sense not to say that in front of Fleur.

Remus and Tonks went back to their earlier activities and Fleur and Harry were lazily gazing at each other. Harry was thinking about what she had just told him and he was sure she was doing the same.

Harry heard someone calling him and looked up. It was Ginny, who had just walked in with Hermione. Harry looked around and saw that Sirius and Fred were already seated. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall had stayed over for dinner and Mundungus looked almost sober. Harry looked at his watch and realised it had been a half hour since he had come down.

Tonks had shifted next to Fleur and Remus was on her other side. Ginny and Hermione flanked him.

"Where were you Harry? We were looking all over for you!" Ginny asked him, not for the first time, it seemed, from the annoyed look on her face.

"Oh? Sorry, I was a bit spaced out there. Yeah, I was in Fleur's room."

Harry didn't notice that all conversation had stopped.

"All this time?"

Harry looked at his watch again. "We came down for dinner about half an hour ago."

The rest of the Weasleys, including Mr Weasley and Bill, had arrived in a group and filled out around the table.

Hermione continued with what seemed to be an interrogation. "What were you doing there all day?" she asked, ignoring Fleur's annoyed look.

Harry was slightly peeved at her insinuations "Well, you see Hermione, when a witch and wizard like each other very much, sometimes they-"

Fleur cut him off as Sirius and the Weasley twins started laughing. "We were chatting." Tonks and surprisingly, McGonagall had slight smiles on their faces.

"For over three hours?" she asked incredulously.

Harry raised an eyebrow "I didn't know it was supposed to be impossible. Why, Hermione, are you jealous?"

"Don't be ridiculous! Why would I be jealous?" Hermione's tone was full of nonchalance.

Harry was distracted from immediately replying as Fleur ran her foot over his leg for a moment. "Oh- Oh, I don't know, I'm handsome, nice, funny, a total win. You have been around me for four years and have been mysteriously single all this time." He openly winked at Fleur. "I appear to have spent hours in the company of a beautiful and intelligent woman and here you are nagging me about it. Wouldn't you say my assumption was reasonable?"

Tonks gave him a thumbs up. Harry caught Professor Dumbledore's eye and was surprised when he immediately turned away and engaged Mr Weasley in conversation.

Hermione turned pink "I was just concerned about you, you jerk!"

Harry immediately sobered "I'm sorry, 'Mione. I went a little overboard. By the way, congrats again on making Prefect. You too, Ron."

That invited everyone to offer the two of them their wishes. Once everyone had settled again, Sirius started in a determined tone "Oh, Dumbledore, I have a bone to pick with you. No offense to Ron here, but why didn't you make Harry a Prefect?" Harry could tell that Sirius was still annoyed at Mrs Weasley for taking a jab at Harry's parents.

Professor Dumbledore still did not look at Harry "I felt that Harry has enough responsibility to be getting along with. We all can agree that he has been through a lot. I didn't want to add more to his burdens."

Sirius couldn't think of anything to say to that. Harry saw that Professor McGonagall was not satisfied over the Headmaster's decision.

"What responsibilities are you taking about, Professor? I'm not doing any extra stuff other than Quidditch." Harry had a feeling he knew what was coming.

"It's not academic burdens I was talking about Harry. For reasons of his own, Lord Volermort" Dumbledore was pleased when only half the people present shuddered "has taken a personal interest in you. I regret that your childhood has not been very pleasant, but you do need to be prepared for worse now that he is back in his own body. I did not want to add the responsibilities of being a Prefect to that."

A month ago, Harry wouldn't have said this, but he was intensely curious "Is there any particular reason why you are refusing to meet my eye, Professor Dumbledore?"

Everyone who was in the Order meeting winced. Now Harry was even more curious. Even Hermione looked intrigued.

Professor Dumbledore reluctantly met his eyes. From the way he was carrying on, Harry half-expected something dramatic to happen. He was startled when Fleur suddenly repeated her earlier ministrations. He threw her a dirty look.

"Did you feel something Harry?"

"Nothing whatsoever."

Hermione couldn't contain herself any longer "Were you expecting something dramatic, Professor?"

McGonagall nodded at Dumbledore, as though telling him to get on with it. Harry had expected Mrs Weasley to run interference by now, but she remained silent.

"We thought now that Lord Voldemort is back your connection to him might have intensified. I did not want to give him any reason to use it."

Harry thought for a moment. "Actually, my scar hasn't acted up at all since his rebirth. It's as though it's not even there." He unconsciously ran a thumb over his scar.

Deciding to get revenge, he ran his foot over Fleur's leg. He was mortified when Tonks glanced down. He still hadn't removed his foot from the leg.

"Harry, what are you doing?"

"Oh, sorry, Tonks, I was just stretching my legs. I was getting uncomfortable with being interrogated today." He calmly withdrew his leg. Fleur took a sip of water to conceal her silent laughter.

Sirius decided to break the tension "So Harry, I expected you to start asking about Voldemort first chance you got."

"Well, I have been asking Tonks whenever she came around, but she refused to tell me anything, so I thought it was pointless to ask any of you. I am tired of not knowing though, considering the fact that it is I who ends up facing him every time."

Minerva McGonagall was looking around in surprise. The Harry Potter she knew till last year was a shy person. Right now, he looked to be in control of the conversation. She had always known that he had the potential for leadership. He was intelligent and very considering of the people around him. She had always had a sneaking suspicion that he could easily have got better grades.

The Harry Potter before her was like an improved version of the boy she had known. He had gained confidence and was comfortable with himself. He did not seem to be weighed down by recent events. She noted with an amused grin that he now had a way with the ladies that reminded her of James Potter, though Harry was decidedly more sensitive and sensible in his dealings.

"Voldemort, as far as we know, is lying low for now. He is establishing contact with his old servants, those that have kept themselves out of Azkaban. It suits him to keep the general Wizarding public in ignorance of his return for now." Sirius supplied.

"What? He has put his plans for world domination on the back burner, then?"

"I believe you have disrupted a lot many of Tom's plans, Harry." Dumbledore replied with a hint of pride in his voice. "As I am sure you have realised, you were not supposed to survive his rebirth. He has made finding out how to destroy you his first priority."

There were twin gasps from either side of him. Harry glanced at Fleur. She was looking as though she wanted to reassure him of her belief in him. Harry gently prodded her foot and was relieved when she smiled.

"Oh please! Don't tell me there is some secret prophecy that you guys are guarding from him!"

There were blank looks of shock on the faces of most Order faces. McGonagall sighed "Don't tell me you have found some way to listen in to Order meetings?"

Harry was surprised. It was only an educated guess on his part. "No, your meetings are secure. We can certify that from our failed efforts."

Sirius glared at Tonks. Harry clarified "Oh Sirius, she did tell me of your crush on Madam Bones but not actual Order matters." Remus stifled a cackle. "Well, this summer I was thinking why Voldemort would want to kill me so much. I could not have been much of a threat as a baby. The only reason would be if he had a hint of the future."

Bill spoke up "But couldn't he have come for your parents? They were Order members too."

Harry said quietly "No. He came to kill just me. He asked my mum to move aside. He even offered to spare her life if she stopped shielding me."

Hermione had gripped his hand under the table. He smiled wanly at her.

"But how can you remember that? You were only a year old!" Mrs Weasley was distressed at the topic of conversation.

"My memory was jogged with the help of a few Dementors." Harry's voice got back to normal "So there is a prophecy. Do I even want to know what it says? I hope my assumption is woefully wrong."

Professor Dumbledore sighed "I know you don't want to hear this, Harry, but this is the sort of information that must be kept away from as many ears as possible. It would be dangerous in the wrong hands. I will tell you when the time is right."

Harry let go of Hermione's hand. Even Fleur couldn't distract him from his anger, though she did help keep him from shouting at Dumbledore. He knew he'd feel a lot worse if he left, as Fleur couldn't follow him without giving up a part of their secret. He glanced at her. She shook her head slightly. She did want it to be a happy occasion when they told everyone. Harry agreed.

Tonks tried to cheer him up. By now, conversation had resumed as usual around the table. "Oh Harry, don't look too much into it. Divination is very imprecise."

"Well, yeah, I suppose it doesn't even matter what that stupid prophecy states. I'm not going to change my decisions anyway. Thanks Tonksie. You know just what to say. Won't you be my girlfriend? We could get a head start on the office rumours that you wanted."

Tonks grinned. Harry was out of his funk. "Oh, I don't know. I suppose I can consider it. If you can guess what I really look like." She was still in the tall, olive-skinned form.

Fleur, Ginny and Hermione were listening in. It was an on-going challenge between the women. Tonks refused to give any clues and would only accept it if they got every feature correct. As far as he knew, even Remus hadn't seen her true form.

Harry gave her his patented evil grin "Oh! Let me see, heavy lidded dark brown eyes, light brown hair, a cute upturned nose, full lips. Hmmm, and you have a small mole on the right corner of your lips. You keep forgetting to change that, by the way."

Tonks was surprised. But she wasn't ready to give in yet. "Come on, Harry, if you want to be my boyfriend, you shouldn't leave out the important stuff."

"If you say so, milady. Hmmm, you are around five foot eight, have a slim figure, er," Harry didn't feel comfortable describing women in such detail, but bravely went on "a small bust and a narrow waist."

"What the hell, Harry, did you peek when I was showering or something?" She looked like she didn't know whether to be flattered, annoyed or embarrassed.

Harry laughed "You wish, Tonksie. I merely described a photo of your mum taken when she was around your age. I have been to your house, remember?"

Tonks groaned "You have ruined what could have been months of fun! Spoilsport!"

Hermione commented "But she could have resembled her father!"

"I hate to say it, but muggle-born genes, at least those pertaining to appearance, might be less dominant than pure-blood ones. The only physical feature I inherited from my mum was her green eyes."

Remus joined their conversation "I think, Harry, that you have inherited Lily's intuition and temperament along with her eyes. Her idea of fun was embarrassing people too, as opposed to James, who best enjoyed a funny hex."

Harry had forgotten all about his earlier anger by now. He spent the rest of dinner engaged in a foot war with Fleur. Life was good, for now.

x-x

AN: Another big chapter. I wanted to speed things up, but I suppose my natural style took over. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took longer than I promised as I had to redo lots of it. Next chapter will wrap up the summer and Apolline will be making an appearance. Voldemort, as Sirius said, is lying low. This time, I will try not to overestimate my writing speed. Expect a chapter in a week.


	8. Chapter 08: Ends and Beginnings

Chapter 8 – Ends and Beginnings

AN: First off, to the people who feel that the ship is close to a rape and that I should include warnings about it, please, you're reading too much into the stuff. It's just a story and besides, what I wrote rates below drunken trysts judging by the degree of unwilling behaviour. Going back and looking at what I wrote, I see nothing happening between Harry and Fleur that is truly unconsented. The only time is when Fleur tested her allure on Harry during the meeting and that is not enough to put warnings up. I agree that Apolline's character is controversial but that too isn't enough to put up warnings. I don't see warnings in stories about Snape or Umbridge being gits or about Voldemort being an evil psychopath.

If there is going to be any violence, rape, torture, etc. in any chapter, I will put up warnings at the beginning of the scene and you may skip those parts if you want. Finally, I don't own the Harry Potter universe, but let's ignore that and continue to the eighth chapter.

Finally, I apologise for the long break. I will try to go back to the earlier frequency of posting chapters, but I can't promise anything. Real life is a major inconvenience.

x-x

"I'm not panicking! I'm NOT panicking!" Harry whispered as he paced around nervously in his room while Fleur looked on with amusement. But, Harry could tell that even she was feeling slightly nervous. The reason? Apolline had contacted them and asked if Harry could possibly help her convince some obstinate French bureaucrats that Harry and Fleur were bonded. Harry's feelings on the matter were pretty conflicted. He alternately admired and respected Apolline for giving birth to Fleur and despised her for pulling him into such situations. Be that as it may, Harry had to go with Fleur to France two days from now.

He took a deep breath and calmed down. "Fleur, I'll come with you to France, but a bunch of pen pushers are not going to be the first people I reveal our relationship to."

"You are going to tell Tonks, right? I like the woman, bit she spends too much time flirting with you!"

Harry laughed at Fleur's pout. "Fleur, you have nothing to be jealous about. It's just harmless flirting. You must admit it has improved our conversations a lot,_ ma cherie_." He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

Fleur rewarded his attempts at French with a kiss that left Harry dazed. "I see you are hoping to make a good impression on my father."

"Hah! It's not like he can do anything about us now. It's you I am trying to impress. And yes, I'm going to tell Tonks and maybe Ron and Hermione too."

"Oh, then, I am suitably impressed. Just be sure that they can keep a secret."

x-x

Fleur left Harry's room after doing her best to put him into a pleasant coma. Their skills at evasion and throwing off the others' suspicion had improved considerably. Harry found the whole thing very exciting; the kind of exciting that didn't involve putting his life on the line and was enjoying sneaking around everyone. He supposed it was his father's traits coming out. After a few minutes, he left to find Remus.

Harry found him in the attic, which had been magically enlarged to house Buckbeak. Professor Dumbledore had even enchanted the ceiling like the Great Hall, to reflect the sky above. It had taken Buckbeak a few injuries to understand that he couldn't fly off into the sky.

Remus was deep in thought while feeding Buckbeak something out of a bloody cloth bag. Harry tried not to think about what was in it.

"Harry! I didn't expect anyone to find me here." Remus said without turning around.

"Your nose is as sharp as ever, Moony. But, how do you know that I didn't come up here to say hello to Buckbeak?"

"Fair point. So why are you here?"

"Well, I did come here to ask you a favour. Hermione's point-me spell is pure genius, I tell you!"

Remus was alarmed "Harry! How can you just use magic like that? You do remember that you are still underage?"

Harry shrugged. He knew he could perform magic anywhere without the Ministry bothering him but he couldn't tell Remus why, yet.

"It must be something to do with the wards on this house. I, er, accidentally found out that the Ministry can't detect underage magic here."

That was actually true. He had told Ron, Hermione and Ginny that they could perform magic here without being detected. All three of them had been delighted, though Harry knew Hermione was delighted for a whole other reason than the other two.

Remus sighed "Trust you to find a way to cause mischief! That fact is true of all wizarding homes, including the Burrow. It has nothing to do with wards. I take it back, you inherited James' character too, not just Lily's! You have no doubt informed your friends?"

"Naturally, Moony. I believe in sharing. But that's not why I'm here. Can you tell Tonks to drop by for dinner tomorrow? I have to tell her something important and it can't wait."

Remus, to his credit, didn't pry. He put on a mischievous grin "There is a way to tell her yourself. Molly would be furious with me, but I can trust you not to misuse it." He then drew his wand and went into Professor mode.

Harry hopped on his toes, his eyes huge. He was the picture of eagerness. "Ooooh! You must teach me, Professor!"

"What do I get in return? In case you forgot, I am no longer paid to teach you."

"Hmmm, tell you what, I can convince Sirius into not revealing your relationship to everyone in the most embarrassing way possible."

"I knew I shouldn't have told him about Tonks! But, wouldn't you have done that anyway?"

"No, I was actually planning on giving him a hand."

"Damn you, Potter! All right, you cheeky swot, I'll do it! Let me demonstrate."

Remus summoned his corporeal Patronus, which was unsurprisingly a wolf. He then leaned down and whispered into its ear. The wolf nodded at Remus and then prowled out directly through a wall.

"What did you just do?"

"I sent Padfoot a message telling him to join us up here."

"I just have to whisper to my Patronus?"

"No Harry, to do that requires a lot of improvement on your Patronus. For one, yours is still a stag. You first have to train linking your mind to it. With practice, you can summon a stag that can understand basic human instructions. Right now, the only thing your Patronus can do is drive away Dementors."

The lecture was interrupted by Sirius' arrival. "What's up, Moony?"

"We are going to teach Harry how to train his Patronus to send messages."

Sirius threw Harry a look of pride "I was wondering how long it'd take you to find out that you can use magic here. Ok then, anything Moony can do, I can do better! What did he tell you?"

"I have to improve my Patronus and link my mind to it."

At Sirius' instruction, Harry summoned his stag Patronus.

"The Patronus, Harry, is like a pet you have to train; only it's quite a bit easier, considering that it is a manifestation of your own will. You can teach it tricks, for lack of a better term, by focusing on what you want it to learn. First, try and will your Patronus to stay in existence. It usually vanishes after a couple of minutes if there are no Dementors around." Sirius actually sounded like a teacher.

After a few tries, Harry got the hang of it. It was somewhat similar to the way he resisted Fleur's thrall. He had to focus hard on what he wanted to happen. In this case, he wanted his stag to stick around.

"I got it! I don't know how to explain it, but it's not going anywhere. I just know."

Remus nodded. "Very good, Harry. As to why you 'just know', it is because, as Sirius rightly said, your Patronus is a manifestation of your will. It's not just happy feelings, Patroni take the form of animals because they are born to fight and then fade. Consequently, they also embody the caster's fighting spirit."

Throughout this, he was ignoring Sirius with supreme calm. The latter was sitting cross-legged on the ground and nodding his head with exaggerated mania and adoration. Harry had actually seen such expressions on some first years when Remus had taught at Hogwarts.

"Now, give your Patronus a message. You don't have to tell it who to go to; it knows your intent. Actual words, though, have to be expressed for it to remember and carry."

Harry had a wicked idea. He smirked at his Patronus, which ran through the wall without further ado.

He heard a cough and turned to look at Remus, who had a resigned look on his face "Perhaps I should have mentioned that your first Patronus' target should have been either Sirius or I."

"It must have slipped his mind. Ah well, no harm done, eh, Harry, my boy! Even great wizards are prone to make mistakes, rare though they may be." Sirius said in an impressive Dumbledore imitation.

"Harm, oh no, I wouldn't hurt a fly, Padfoot! It might ruffle a few feathers though." Harry replied with a secretive grin on his face.

"What were you going to tell Tonks, anyway?" Remus asked with the curiosity that comes with anything to do with a loved one.

Harry exchanged a quick glance with Sirius "Why do you care, Moony? It's not like she's your girlfriend or anything!"

Remus sighed in exasperation. Though he had a slight frown on his face that suggested he wasn't going to take this lying down from Harry.

Sirius ganged up on Remus before he could respond to Harry's veiled accusation. "Yeah, Moony, everyone knows that you and Tonks are just good friends. Isn't that what you told Tonks' parents when they were almost caught you and Tonks snogging in the kitchen right before an Order meeting?"

Sirius sniggered at Remus' slight blush. Whatever else happened, he would make sure that Remus never lived that one down.

Harry was a bit more sober in his approach. He knew how much that had bothered Tonks. "You have nothing to fear Remus. I can say that they are actually slightly worried that Tonks is still single. Even that is nothing compared to how Tonks feels about what you said. She was almost crying when she told me."

Sirius looked up in surprise. He had never seen Tonks even sniffle before. What's more, he was even more amazed that Harry had survived the experience. "I thought teenage guys were supposed to be uncomfortable when faced with crying women, or was it just me?"

Harry smiled sadly "Thankfully, I have been blessed with tact and wisdom. Not to mention I'm probably more mature than you, Sirius."

Truthfully, his mother had been crying rivers when she was talking to him. He'd learnt how to deal with it. Unlike Ron, who was under the impression that women cry to weaken men's resolve, Harry understood stuff like that better. Though, as he thought of Fleur, he admitted to himself that he could never claim to fully understand women.

"I am breaching her trust, Remus, but she actually told me she had hoped that her parents had caught you in the act itself so that she could have found out whether you would ever admit to the relationship."

Remus sat down shakily. "I truly didn't realise how much this is hurting her. I thought she was anxious to reveal the relationship so that I would realise for sure that she didn't care about my condition. As if I don't already know that!" He said in anger which Harry was sure was self-directed.

Sirius took over "You are a kind and selfless man, Moony. You can make anyone happy. I'm sure Tonks knows that you aren't intentionally hurting her. But Remus, you two are no longer a new couple! The novelty of secrecy has worn off for her and for you too, I'm sure. She just wants everyone to know that she's happily in love. Now she's scared that you don't feel the same way."

"Of course I do! How could you doubt that? I'm now, and always will be, scared that I might hurt her on some full moon, but if it wasn't for that, I'd happily marry her right now!" Remus said with absolute conviction.

"And I'm sure you two can live a happy married life even though everybody thinks you're just _friends_!" Sirius said, showing for the first time actual anger at his friend. Harry realised that he was being protective of Tonks, who was a member of his family. Remus flinched at his tone.

"Calm down Sirius. But, Moony, he's right. Just tell everyone about your relationship. I'm sure not one person will raise an objection based on your lycanthropy. Sure, they may say you're too old for her, but you know that Tonks will shoot them down faster than she did to you, and with much less romantic intent, too!" Harry said.

After they had all recovered from the argument that had been building up for a long time, Remus broke the awkward silence that had sprung up. "You've really matured, Harry. You are a much more sensible and mature than Sirius or I was at your age, especially towards your parents."

Sirius grinned in recollection "As I remember, we just gave James horrible advice so that we could laugh at him making a fool of himself in front of Lily. I was shocked that their relationship could withstand our friendly interference, but it became quickly clear to everyone that they were very much in love."

Remus said hesitantly "I'm glad that Tonks trusts you so much with her problems. Just like I need Sirius here to talk about issues regarding Tonks, she too needed someone who she can talk about me. You remind me of Lily, more and more!"

"Hey!" cried Harry indignantly "Don't sell my dad so short! If he heard you, he'd come down here and impale your furry ass on his antlers!"

All three of them had tears in their eyes as the laughed themselves hoarse imagining such a scenario. Harry continued after he had found his breath "Seriously though, it's not all one-sided. It's partly thanks to her that I'm able to smile when you talk of my mum instead of choking up in angst."

Sirius was surprised "I thought you'd have rather talked to Ron and Hermione, if you wanted to talk to anyone."

Harry got a dark, brooding look in his eyes that reminded Sirius of how his godson had looked after the tournament. "I would have, but there were some things that happened in that graveyard that had me believing that I had gone crazy, not least of all because I was so sure that escaping from there alive was impossible. I suspect the multiple Cruciatus curses helped the feeling along too."

Remus winced in sympathy while Sirius growled in anger. Harry just ploughed on "I was near death even before I started fighting Voldemort properly. I was in shock from Cedric's death, weak from loss of the blood that Wormtail took from me for the ritual, not to mention the broken leg from the Acromantula. Then I was nearly broken under Voldemort's Cruciatus. I now feel ashamed that I had sat back and watched when the fake Moody demonstrated the curse on a poor spider in his class."

From the looks on their faces, this was news to them. Remus laid a hand gently on Harry's shoulder "Its ok, Harry, you don't have to relive it for us. You've done enough, much more than anything that can be expected from a single person." Sirius indicated his agreement.

The Marauders were taken aback on seeing a strange smile on Harry's face. "But you know, if I had to relive that night all over again, I would do so without hesitation, for something happened that simply lets me shrug off everything else."

Harry then looked up and took a deep breath. Sirius and Remus instantly knew that this was something Harry hadn't told anyone else.

"I met my mum and dad that night!"

"James and Lily? Are you sure?" Sirius asked, with a look of longing on his face.

"Remember that I told you when my Disarming curse merged with Voldemort's Killing curse? Well, things didn't happen exactly as I said they did."

"What do you mean? Dumbledore checked your wand. There was an intense explosion of magical energy right after the Priori Incantatem effect, just like you had said." Remus commented, with a worried look on his face. "Even if James and Lily came out, they would have only been echoes."

"Yes, there was a Reverse Spell Effect, but it didn't work properly, nor did either of our curses. The effect didn't occur completely and the curses never merged." Harry explained. As he told Remus and Sirius exactly what happened, he let himself be immersed in the memory of that night. It had been a night of extremes, which caused him nightmares and made him daydream in equal measure. But no matter how he viewed that night, it always started from the exact same moment.

x-x

"And now - we duel."

As soon as Voldemort hissed those words, Harry threw himself out of what he knew was another Cruciatus curse. He was forced to put his weight on his bad leg. The pain was excruciating; Harry vaguely thought that if he survived the night, Madam Pomfrey would have to remove the entire leg and regrow it somehow to fix it.

Despite himself, Harry flinched as Voldemort trained his wand on him once again. Voldemort smiled; he looked genuinely happy, something Harry thought he should be incapable of.

"Already you understand the pain of the Cruciatus, Harry! You would rather try and escape on that mangled leg than face true pain once more. Isn't that right, little Gryffindor?"

Harry stared defiantly back at Voldemort. He was fully aware that his death was approaching very fast and he promised himself not to show any weakness before the inevitable.

"I can see it in your eyes, Harry. You wish to die bravely, like your father did. You wish to die before fear breaks out on your face. Lord Voldemort is generous. Though you have impeded me and my causes a number of times, futilely, I might add, I will grant you your _final _wish."

Harry tensed, preparing himself. Any defence would be meaningless. Even walking was nearly impossible at the moment, so dodging the curse might work once, but it may also invite Voldemort to humiliate him for the attempt.

Unbeknownst to himself, the moment Harry decided that he would stand and die with dignity rather than run, his face got such a confidant, serene look that for an instant, Voldemort doubted the path he was about to take. It was but for an instant; with steely resolve, Lord Voldemort cast the curse that would smother that tiny spark of weakness, even as Harry Potter bid one final time for victory.

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

"_Expelliarmus!_"

Harry knew something had gone wrong; the moment the two curses touched, the red light of his spell turned bright gold and rocketed into Voldemort's wand, which started screaming in a jumble of voices and was spitting out ghostly figures.

Harry didn't really focus on the faces of the ghosts; his attention was drawn inexorably to his own fate. His ears were filled with that awful rushing sound of approaching death; a bright green light was filling his vision. Weakly, he thought the curse might have deflected a bit. It was now headed for his head rather than his heart. Too little too late as it didn't really matter where the curse hit; his soul was everywhere.

When he came to, Harry found that he was lying on his back. He sat up gingerly, mindful of his injuries. Then he noticed that he wasn't in any pain and stood up quickly. He was in his Hogwarts robes, though they were clean and bore no sign of the night's events. He had a strange feeling that he had met Cedric, who wanted Harry to take his body back. He should've paid more attention to the ghosts, or whatever they were, decided Harry. Though, he was pretty sure he didn't imagine the request from Cedric's ghost.

Harry was all alone in a vast, seemingly infinite featureless place. He didn't know if he was blind or if the place was dark or if there was simply nothing to look at. The same could be said for his other senses too.

Deciding not to simply stand around, Harry tested his power of speech. "So this is what comes after death. Not too bad, though I'll be bored out of my mind soon." Harry spoke out loud. There were no echoes.

"You're not dead yet."

Harry had only heard that voice once before, in Dementor-induced nightmares. He turned towards the voice slowly, not daring to hope and be crushed.

For once, fate had smiled upon him, for looking back at him, exactly like they were in the Mirror of Erised, were his mum and dad. Even his mother's tears looked the same.

In a moment, Harry rushed over to them and threw his hands around their necks. He pushed his face between theirs so they wouldn't see him crying.

His father started stroking the back of his head. "It's all right, Harry. You don't have to hide your tears. I'll just console myself with the realization that you take after Lily."

His mother laughed and smacked his dad. They all ended up laughing uncontrollably till everyone ran out of breath. Harry grew quiet again as his friend's death hit him. Till now, he didn't really have the time to reflect on it. Lily noticed this and was quick to console him.

"Harry, it's wonderful to see you again, my baby. I know you must be feeling really guilty right now as you had coerced Cedric into taking the Triwizard Cup with you. I've watched you grow over the years, and you never tried to take anyone's choices away. You always tried to keep your friends safe but you never tried to forcibly prevent Ron or Hermione from following you into your adventures. You've always known that the choice to put one's life at risk is one's own. You tried your best to _talk _your friends into staying behind but you left the final choice to them."

"You must realise that Cedric too made his own choices tonight. It was his choice as much as yours to take the Cup with you. It was his choice to stay next to you instead of fleeing after sensing danger. You couldn't have done anything in that instant. I'm sure Cedric's echo told you this itself before you came here. You would have done your best had you had a chance. I don't want you to be guilty as this was not in your power to prevent. I want my son to learn from this and better himself."

(AN: You'd have read that part in the second chapter already but I included it for completeness.)

Harry reluctantly agreed. It was creepy how his mum somehow knew about his conversation with Cedric. He was definitely going to have major headaches if he survived the night. But whatever the circumstance, he was happy to see his parents. "How come you are here if I'm not dead? And how am I alive in the first place? Nobody died for me this time." Harry asked with an apologetic look at his mum.

Lily waved off his apology "You know I'd do that any number of times! Anyway, we don't know how we came to be here either. But someone did die in your place this time too."

"Something!" murmured his father angrily "Don't think of it like a person. No part of Voldemort is human anymore."

"Voldemort?" Harry exclaimed in surprise "Don't be absurd! Why would he die for me?"

Lily laughed out loud at this. "Oh, I don't think he wanted to. But it looks like there was a part of him attached to your body." Her eyes made that familiar flick that Harry had come to associate with meeting new people.

"My scar? It contained a bit of Voldemort? Well, it does make sense, now that I think about it. So I suppose I can't speak Parseltongue and I won't get splitting headaches whenever Voldemort is near me? Overall, it's a positive change. Oh, and here I was thinking it didn't matter where the curse hit me!" Harry finished with a chuckle.

"Magic works in strange ways, kiddo. I might be wrong, but I suspect the same thing would have happened no matter where the Killing Curse hit you." James chipped in.

"But I'm still confused. I learnt – I mean, I read up on the Unforgivables last year after the fake Moody showed them to us, and the book said the Unforgivables were intent based. Voldemort would never intend to kill himself, so the curse should have taken my soul, no matter that my body had a bit of his."

"You are aware that your wand is connected to Voldemort's, Harry." At Harry's nod, Lily continued "Brother wands usually don't work properly when forced to fight each other. There is a lot about magic that we don't understand. No one could've predicted that the wands would malfunction in this particular way, but it's certainly possible."

Harry was quietly contemplating what his mum had said. His voice became heavy with regret "So, do I have to go back?"

Lily's eyes immediately filled with tears. Harry had his answer as she hugged him like she never wanted to let go. Like Harry had earlier, she put her head over his shoulder to hide her tears. He felt an explosion of pleasure in his gut as he discovered a mannerism he shared with his mother.

Looking over at his father, Harry found him looking at them both with an expression of tenderness and deep satisfaction. The moment he noticed Harry looking at him, James changed his face into a huge grin "You can't stay here Harry and we don't want you to stay, not yet. But time passes strangely in-between. Your mother and I fully intend to use this chance to do a fat lot of parenting!"

Harry grinned back "As if you know anything beyond changing nappies!"

Lily joined in "If things had been normal, James and I probably would have hated that part of your childhood. And hey! My James would've learnt his responsibilities… eventually."

James cut in before his wife and son started to gang up on him "On to the fun stuff! Got any young ladies we should keep an eye out for?" This was said, of course, with a lot of leering and eyebrow waggling.

Harry sobered up at that "I dunno dad, maybe if I didn't have a Dark Lord intent upon murdering me, I might be interested in all that. Look at Cedric! He was killed for standing next to me at an inopportune moment! How can I put anyone in that kind of danger?"

James had something to say "Though I wouldn't mind if the Dursleys were caught in the cross-fire."

Lily sighed. James had always disliked her sister's family because of the way they'd treated her. Now, though, he had a much more personal reason to hate the Dursleys. "Harry, your father is right to be angry at your treatment under my sister's family. But I think that you can be the better man. Despite their best efforts, you've grown into a fine wizard. Please forgive my sister, Harry. Pity her for her jealousy. I wonder if I would have felt any different if Petunia had been a witch while I was the one who couldn't do any of the wonderful stuff that my sister could."

Harry thought about it. If he had been the Dursleys' actual son, how would Dudley have felt about Harry being a wizard? Maybe even now, Dudley felt it easy to inherit his parents' hatred of Harry because a small part of him was jealous of Harry's magical ability. He made his decision. "I understand your anger, dad. But I would rather not harbour bad feelings about my only living relatives. I'll tolerate them and try to protect them from the coming war."

Lily beamed at him. "Harry, though a part of me wishes that you had nothing to do with this war, your father and I are immensely proud of you putting your life on the line for your beliefs. With Voldemort back, you will soon be fighting for a better future of everyone, but your heart won't be in it if you have nothing and no-one to personally fight for."

"A lot of people, McGonagall and Flitwick included, thought Lily and I were being reckless having a baby in the middle of a war. But if we had put our lives on hold, it would've been a victory to those looking to disrupt our lives."

"Of course, we are not telling you to endanger an innocent girl. There will be someone mature enough to understand the full implications of associating with you and brave enough to stand by your side in spite of the danger, because she believes in your cause, in your dreams, in you!" By the end of her speech, Lily was gazing into James' eyes and the two of them were lost to their own world. In those few moments, Harry hoped he too could be as lucky one day.

"As to why we're telling you all this, we don't want to pressure you. But it will only be a matter of time before Voldemort's return is revealed to the world. You know that it was you Voldemort wanted to kill, when you were a year old. You will be in the centre of the war effort, where you frankly belong. So many people will be telling and teaching you so many things, like how to fight, how to plan, how to work in teams. But for all their well-meaning intentions, no one will care much about your personal life and happiness, as long as the war is being halted. No doubt many people will seek to control you."

James took up where Lily left off "As your parents, we want a happy life for you, one filled with love. Your future, in your head, shouldn't just end with the defeat of Voldemort. You've grown up, son. Too fast and too harshly, but it's true all the same. We want you to have a future beyond that monster's death. Hopefully, you will have a long life with lots of children and grandchildren before you have to join us for good."

Lily had a mischievous smile on her face, though it was a bit weak, knowing that their time together was drawing to a close "Oh, and when you do find that special someone, I have a bit of advice. Don't try to protect her and hide her away from the realities of your life. Strong women don't like to hide behind their wizards and being told to do so, even less. Your father learnt that the hard way."

Harry nodded, smiling through his tears as the world faded into nothingness once more.

x-x

A quiet cough brought Harry back to Grimmauld Place. Remus looked to be holding back tears with no little effort and Sirius didn't look much better. He hadn't told them exactly what he had discussed, partly because he wanted to treasure the memories a little longer, and partly because he didn't want these two badgering him about a girlfriend.

"We won't ask you what exactly you talked about, Harry. I am honoured that you trust us with even this much and rest assured, the information will not go any further." Remus said, looking as if he perfectly understood Harry's secretive behaviour.

Sirius, the more passionate one, was hoarse with emotion. "Did- Did they mention us?"

Harry hesitated for a tiny moment. Sirius might be hurt, but Harry preferred the truth to lies. "I'm sorry, Sirius. There wasn't much time. I was hanging in between life and death as long as I was in that place."

Remus distracted Sirius from his disappointment "So how did you actually escape, Harry?"

"The rest of it is pretty much the truth as I explained to Professor Dumbledore. Those echoes of Voldemort's killers were hovering around. They encouraged me, and Cedric requested that I return his body, but they all vanished before any of the Death Eaters woke. My parents' echoes weren't there; the murders had happened too long ago. I made them up because I couldn't refrain from mentioning them."

"So Voldemort never saw the echoes?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe they appeared before he lost consciousness. But I do know that he was knocked out completely. Most of his powerful and faithful Death Eaters, from what I could tell from their interactions, were also completely knocked out. That made my escape much easier."

Having nothing more to tell, Harry fell into a brooding silence. Thinking about that night brought back his insecurities about getting into a relationship. But he already made the choice not to put his life on hold, not for Voldemort.

Remus and Sirius watched in silence as Harry got up and left. It was obvious that he wanted to be alone in his thoughts. Besides, the two Marauders had been given plenty if things to think about, themselves.

x-x

Fleur Delacour was currently bored. One would think that being a few hundred feet from a live, breathing dragon would excite someone, but no, Fleur had gone through her fair share of dragons, although one could argue that even a single dragon was way too many to face alone.

Nevertheless, guarding the dragons in Gringotts was much less glamorous a job than she had thought it would be. The poor beasts were already shacked and starved. Being born and raised in these caves, they didn't even have an inclination to leave, beyond the occasional pining for the clear skies that they could sense above them.

As a result, Fleur spent most of her time thinking about her life in England and watching out for the goblins than actually looking after the dragons.

This hadn't been the job she was given at the start. The goblins were a proud race and very much disliked having to kowtow to wizards. As a result, they took whatever opportunities they had to favour non-human beings within Gringotts.

Being a quarter-Veela had landed her a job that was usually high up the ladder for wizards - curse-breaking. It's what she was interested in and had she been a pure witch, it'd have taken months, if not years, before she cleared the gauntlet of errand-running and got placed under an actual curse-breaker.

However, that turned out to be a curse rather than a blessing, for the person she was placed under was none other than one Bill Weasley. The goblins thought they were doing her a favour by placing her under a human she already had contact with, and Merlin forbid her offending their gesture of generosity this early in her career.

It had taken only a few days before she came to the decision that she could take his advances no longer. Bill Weasley was under the mistaken impression that she had joined the Order because of his persuasive talents, and was now trying to persuade her into other things.

True, she had not done anything to blatantly shoot him down, not wanting to hurt a friend of Harry's. She had briefly considered entering into an affair with him (Harry's and Tonks' frequent references to their office rumours were really annoying her) but her human side quickly took over. Her Harry was only joking, and she never forgot that his choice of a family was taken away, though Harry had almost convinced her that he didn't regret how things had started between them as long as she was happy now.

She had instead convinced the goblins of her fascination with dragons and in turn, due to her famous exploits at the Triwizard Tournament, they had obligingly given her the extremely prestigious job of guarding the dragons, which themselves guarded the most ancient and often, most valuable vaults. She had been initially pleased at the jealousy and even anger of the stuck-up pureblood fanatics within Gringotts, but by Aello, was she regretting it now!

She decided that the next time Bill Weasley made an advance at Order Headquarters, she would make it clear that she wasn't interested in him and maybe even hint at being committed. It was only fair and besides, it would be fun to subtly point him in Harry's direction and see if he noticed. Afterwards, she decided to get back into curse-breaking, hopefully without disappointing the goblins.

So engrossed was Fleur in her musings, that she did not notice the ethereal stag that was closing in on her from behind.

A few seconds later, a startled scream that was somehow pleasing to human ears brought a horde of goblins to Fleur's cave, none of whom were pleased in the slightest. After assuring them that she was all right and the dragons were in no danger of escaping and most importantly, that there was no threat to Gringotts' security, the goblins left to their former stations. Fleur was sure that the disgruntled murmurings and dirty looks were reduced by two-thirds thanks to her non-human status.

Unfortunately for one Harry Potter, she had seen the stag Patronus a second before it vanished.

x-x

That evening, Harry Potter was so deep in thought that he was barely paying attention to Mrs Weasley's excellent dinner. He and Fleur had decided to tell Tonks first about their relationship and based on her reaction tell Hermione, Ron and Ginny. Harry had privately decided not to tell everyone till Remus told someone about him and Tonks, even if Apolline visited before that.

There hadn't been an Order meeting today, so the kitchen table was currently occupied by the people who Harry considered his family, namely the Weasleys, (excluding Charlie, who was in Romania. Harry didn't really consider Percy a Weasley after what he did), Sirius, Remus, Tonks and of course, Fleur.

Harry, feeling strategic, sat between Fleur and Tonks, who themselves were flanked by Sirius and Remus. Hopefully, this would prevent eavesdropping from those nearby. Also, he trusted Sirius and Remus to keep whatever they heard to themselves, if at all they heard anything.

Seated across from them were Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Bill, each of whom was interested in Harry's interactions, albeit for different reasons.

Once the main course had been sufficiently demolished and people started having small conversations, Harry whispered to Tonks "Hey Tonksie. I have a girlfriend."

Tonks almost coughed up the salad in surprise. Though Harry found out it was surprise at the sudden whispering, as she asked "Is it Fleur?"

"Damn, we were trying to keep it a secret."

"Heh, don't worry. How long has this been going on?"

"Since the second of August."

"Oh, Harry! I was there that day, that's why I suspected… Is it, you know, official?"

Harry gulped. He honestly hadn't intended to reveal the full nature of his relationship to anyone so soon. Well, it's Tonks, he thought. She definitely can keep a secret. "You and your Auror mind! Yes, it's official."

On his other side, Fleur tensed a bit at this. Harry soothed her by taking her hand. He silently conveyed his trust in Tonks to her.

Tonks hissed "Am I correct in thinking you're only telling me because her mother will be coming by soon?"

Harry flinched. "Not exactly, no. We just wanted to keep it a secret and sneak around for a bit. But yeah, I'd have probably waited a bit longer if it weren't for that. I have nothing against you, Tonksie. We want to enjoy ourselves in peace for as long as possible. You'd still be the first person I told."

Tonks chuckled "Still haven't gotten out of the new couple phase eh?"

"You have no idea! My Fleur's a little hard to get used to!" Fleur intertwined her fingers in his to indicate her approval. Harry smiled and continued "So, have you gotten tired of the old fur-ball yet?" Needless to say, he was very peeved at Remus' cowardly attitude.

Tonks grumbled "Oh, I know he loves me, but by Merlin I'm going to hex him into a rug if he doesn't shape up soon."

"And Sirius and I will cheerfully help. Still, have you shared your suspicions with him?"

"No, I'm too pissed at him to share my spicy suspicions. Besides, most of them here are suspecting something between you and I, so you're pretty safe, lover boy!"

"I think I'm gonna tell Ron, Hermione and Ginny later."

"Make sure you name the girl, or they'll think it's me! I don't wanna get on Ginny's bad side!"

"Just for that, I'm gonna tell them it's you! But seriously, does everyone think we've got something going on?"

As if in answer to that, Bill spoke up "Hey Harry! You and Tonks seem pretty cosy there! Something going on that we ought to know about?"

Harry sighed. He knew the real reason Bill was trying to insinuate something between himself and Tonks. Granted, he didn't blame the guy. Fleur would be a great catch and Harry was pretty sure Fleur hadn't openly rejected him, but the guy couldn't take a hint. Fleur had even changed departments in Gringotts, for Merlin's sake! But he wasn't feeling too charitable towards Bill either. Just before he could reply with a snappy retort, Tonks interjected. "So what if there is, Bill? Any particular reason why you are so curious?" She put an arm around Harry's shoulders for emphasis.

Harry inwardly groaned. He knew that the true target of Tonks' attack was sitting on her other side. However, Remus knew perfectly well that there was nothing to worry about. Harry was sure Remus also knew what exactly Tonks expected from him and hoped that Remus would come to his senses, and quickly.

Bill was annoyed at being shouted at for no apparent reason. "Oh, I don't know, aren't you a little too old for him?"

Unknowingly, he had hit a sore spot. Normally, Tonks would've flown off the handle at that, but she was feeling so distraught at Remus that she started trembling, close to tears.

Harry immediately tried to console her. She'd definitely not want anyone present to see her tears. It would forever ruin her hard-knuckle image. He glared at Remus, but he could see that the age comment was shaking Remus' confidence too. "Tonks, please, it's all right. Bill doesn't know what he's saying." He couldn't help his glare at Bill as he said this.

Sirius was feeling irrationally angry. This was the second time, as far as he knew, that his best friend had made Tonks cry. Still, he couldn't betray Remus' confidence, so he contended himself by glaring at the opposite wall. "Still, at least Harry's doing the right thing by consoling her. I think he's great boyfriend material, unlike some people!"

Bill was very confused, thinking Sirius was angry with him and not understanding why. Mrs Weasley looked like she wanted to interrupt, but didn't know if she should. She too didn't know who was in the wrong here and decided not to impose. The rest of the Weasleys and Hermione looked shocked by the happenings and felt like this was something out of their league.

Harry casually removed Tonks' hand from his shoulders before everyone decided to believe Bill. Also, Fleur didn't know about Remus and Tonks and though Harry felt that she was more upset for Tonks than angry at Harry, he didn't want to hurt her by mistake. This night was turning into a total disaster.

"Sirius, shut up! Bill, I think you, and it seems everyone else, have the wrong idea. There's nothing going on between Tonks and I. She's just upset about something else and snapped at you because of that. Please don't take it personally."

As he said this, Harry squeezed Fleur's hand. When she looked down, Harry gestured her to get Tonks out of the kitchen.

Fleur understood and stood up. "I'll just escort Tonks to her room, shall I?" She gently helped Tonks out of her seat. As they moved towards the door, Fleur said loudly "Cheer up, Tonks! I'll tell you all about _mon nouveau_ _petit ami_!" Tonks giggled half-heartedly, indicating she understood.

The moment they left, the kitchen was filled with an uneasy silence. Sirius got up and exclaimed angrily "Right, I think I'd better leave before I punch somebody's lights out."

Remus still hadn't said a word. Perhaps he felt he'd lost his chance with Tonks. Harry didn't know if that was true or not, nor did he know if he wanted it to be. He decided to give Remus one last chance and play peacemaker. He wanted to bring Remus to his senses, but Remus didn't look like he was getting out of that seat any time soon. The others too were frozen in their seats. They didn't want to draw attention to themselves by getting up. The situation was that awkward.

"Sirius, just give her some time. I'm sure she'd come around eventually."

Sirius glared at Harry before he realised that Harry was talking about Remus. "I'm tired at waiting around for her and obviously, I'm not the only one. Maybe she should quit before things get serious if she can't even deal with this."

That wasn't going to help Remus at all. "Maybe, but don't you trust her? You know her better than I do, and even I know that she just needs time. She didn't intend for this to happen. Not everyone's like you, Sirius. Hell, if it was me, I'd come around at my own sweet time, regardless of what anyone thinks. We all have our own pace of doing things."

"That's not the same, Harry! She's causing problems and she knows it! Delaying things now is just selfish if she truly doesn't want to lose what she has! I'm sure she realises that, so why isn't she doing anything?"

"Whatever, just don't interfere. I've decided not to, myself. She's a grown woman." Here, Harry had to stifle sniggers at referring to Remus as a grown woman. Even Sirius twitched for a second. "She can make her own decisions. Whatever happens, be there for her. I'll take care of things on my end if she's too late."

Sirius sat back down heavily, as though making the decision not to interfere had exhausted him. He grinned lazily at Harry "Well, dear godson, whatever else, you'd make a damn good Order member! You've got the speaking in code part down pat!"

Finally, someone else, namely Ron, broke the silence "Yup! I have no idea what you two were talking about." The twins, Hermione and Bill nodded in agreement.

Ginny was curious "Were you even talking about Tonks?"

Harry grinned at her "That is for me to know, and you to never find out!"

Hermione was after something else "Doesn't _mon nouveau petit ami_ mean my new boyfriend?"

"Yes." Surprisingly, it was Remus who responded. Harry and Sirius looked at him sharply, but nobody was looking at them. "Yes, it does." He then got up and left without another word.

Mr Weasley broke the second stunned silence "Remus and Fleur?" He looked extremely surprised. Harry had to hold in his laughter at the look on Bill's face. He then made the mistake of looking at Sirius, who looked at him for a second in return. They both burst out laughing.

It took a minute for them to settle down. Sirius was wiping tears from his eyes. "Na, I think old Moony was just tired. But I think he'd love to hear your speculations, Arthur!"

Harry was still chuckling "Besides, he couldn't handle Fleur."

"Oh? Why not? He can resist her allure better than most people." That was Bill, probing for information.

"Resisting her allure isn't everything, my young friend. She is three-quarters human, in case you forgot." Sirius was always happy to provide advice pertaining to witches.

Harry couldn't resist adding his bit. Why not see how far Bill goes? Fleur can handle herself. "I don't think it'd matter even if she were all-Veela. Everyone, even Veela, have different tastes. Remus is quiet and down to earth. He is a nice guy. Fleur doesn't like nice guys."

"How would you know that, Harry dear?" Mrs Weasley had the 'gossip gleam' in her eye. It looked like tonight was for pure family ribbing, since even she wasn't her stern self.

"Yes, perhaps you are her, ah, _nouveau petit ami_?" Fred asked with the usual evil smile on his face.

Harry just smirked "Be careful what you wish for, Fred."

George added "Yes, Freddy mine, between her admirers and his fan club, they'd break quite a few hearts if that were true."

"You still didn't tell us how you knew, Harry." Ginny said. There was only the slightest of tense undercurrents in her tone.

"As for that, you'd have to ask your neighbours, my best couple-" Ron and Hermione blushed "I mean my best pair of friends, Ron and Hermione!"

All eyes turned to the fidgeting couple "Well, Ron and I happened to be listening when Harry and Fleur were discussing their tastes."

"Listening at the door, you mean." However, Harry was smiling to show he wasn't angry at that.

Emboldened by his tone, Hermione addressed him "Speaking of which, you two found out and blocked us out before your tastes came up in conversation, Harry. Besides Cho Chang, that is."

Fred whistled at that. George added "Good taste, Harry. Good taste."

Harry bowed. "It was just a crush that passed. I asked her out for the Yule Ball, she told me she was going with Cedric, end of story."

Ron sniggered "It did not just end like that! You were pining for weeks like a puppy!"

Harry raised an eyebrow. The timing was perfect; Fleur had just come back and sat next to Harry. "Oh? Remember who you first asked to the Yule Ball, best friend of mine?"

Ginny roared with laughter as Ron turned bright pink in embarrassment. Harry joined in moments later.

The twins couldn't contain it any longer "Come on guys, tell us! Harry, get back at him for his Cho Chang jab!"

Harry stopped laughing as he held up a hand. "Ginny, drum roll please!" Ginny obliged. Harry spoke up, imitating a magician who he'd once seen on TV when the Dursleys were out "Ladies and Gentlemen! The One! The Only…" He turned to the left "Fleur! Delacour!"

Everyone exploded in uproarious laughter. Even Mr and Mrs Weasley were laughing at the turning of the tables.

Fleur understood what was going on. "Well, what can I say; poor Ronald wasn't used to Veela allure. I didn't know you then and I do get pretty unpleasant when that happens. Don't take it personally."

Ron nodded, having sunk low in his chair. He then looked up with an apologetic grin at Fleur, who just smiled reassuringly.

Sirius was still chuckling "Man, that was funny. So, Harry my boy, before we got side-tracked by Fleur, we were discussing your taste in witches, weren't we?"

Harry groaned. Sirius wasn't going to let him off tonight. Harry updated Fleur "We were just talking about our conversation that my two best friends, ah, listened to the day I arrived here."

"_Oui_! 'Arry's tastes in witches? We didn't actually talk about it that day, but I did discover them."

Bill intervened. "So, what did Harry say? Was it something about heart-shaped faces and bright hair colours?"

Fleur glanced at Harry. It was clear to Harry that she was tired of Bill's subtle hints. He nodded, eager to see whatever scheme his girlfriend had in mind. To the others, it looked like she was asking for permission.

First off, she had to rest everyone's doubts about Tonks. "Since 'Arry has given his permission, I will reveal what he told me. He considers Tonks like a sister to him. An elder sister who he can approach for advice on anything in life, from career to, of course, witches." She finished with a grin.

Everyone quieted down at that, feeling guilty for assuming things between Harry and Tonks. Fleur smiled at them all "You all don't have to feel so bad. Harry and Tonks do enjoy making up silly rumours about their relationship, so he is totally at fault for your thoughts."

Sirius gave Harry a friendly thumping at that, saying "So, that silly stuff has finally come back to bite you!"

Mrs Weasley looked worried "Speaking of Tonks, why don't you go fetch her, Harry? She could use some cheering up."

Harry was about to give some excuse, knowing that Remus was with her right now, but Sirius intervened. "Na, Remus probably looked in on her after he left. That old fur-ball can definitely cheer her up."

Thankfully, no one except Harry and Fleur understood the complete meaning of Sirius' statement. Harry supposed that Tonks had told Fleur about her relationship in exchange for Harry telling her about his.

Bill wasn't ready to give up yet "If you don't mind me asking, Harry, can you tell us how you and Tonks became so close? I wager that she's even closer to you than Ron and Hermione and you met her just this summer."

Ron and Hermione were most interested and for them, he couldn't refuse to answer. "Well, Ron, Hermione and I have been through some life-changing stuff, but I was pretty much out of it after the events. So I didn't really talk to them about what had happened and then I usually returned to the Dursleys, so by the time I saw them next, I had worked through most of the emotional ramifications by myself. Letters just aren't enough to talk about that kind of stuff." The last bit he added in response to Hermione's heated look. She had all but begged Harry to talk about his issues, after all.

"Then, by a stroke of luck, I met Tonks over the summer, an Auror close to my age who had been through the experience of losing a friend. In a few words, she helped me through my problems. We talked a lot about our lives, and got close. That's it. If I say any more I'd be breaking her confidence."

Ron replied "We understand, mate. Hermione and I did feel a little jealous at first, but we're glad you had someone to talk to. You two do make a good pair of pranksters. Fred and George have found serious competition."

Ginny ignored the twin shouts of "Hey!" and said "Remember how you convinced me that you fancied Tonks? That's what started all the rumours within the Order. I think even Professor Dumbledore suspects something between you two."

Harry grinned "Well then, I would consider that venture a success then. What can I say? After I join the Auror Office, Tonks wants some office rumours involving the great, mighty, handsome Boy-Who-Lived, yours truly, and I am happy to oblige. It'll take everyone's minds off the boring paperwork at least."

Speaking of pranks, Hermione decided to get back at him for that letter prank "Oh I don't know, Harry, I'm still not convinced. After all, you and Tonks have a lot of secrets."

Fleur nudged Harry. He looked down for a moment and Fleur wrote 'second of August' on his palm. He gave a slight nod. "Oh you don't know that half of it! Did you know that Tonks and I secretly went to Diagon Alley one day? It was so much fun!" Harry said, inducing gasps from his fellow Hogwarts students.

Fleur added "Don't take complete credit for that, 'Arry! I was a part of that prank."

Everyone gasped "This is sounding more like a conspiracy!" Sirius said, in a mock-serious tone.

Mr Weasley asked, slightly worried at the level of clandestine activity "When exactly was this?"

Fleur took Harry's hand under the table. Whatever she had planned, it was coming up, Harry realised. "Oh, 'Arry's deviousness stretches far back. It was a result of this prank that I even joined the Order."

Bill was astonished at that "What? But the only time you were here before you joined the Order was in the second of August, when you came to apply for a job at Gringotts. I talked to you that day and I definitely didn't see Harry or Tonks."

Ginny gasped in realisation "My birthday gift! Harry, you used the Dastardly Disguise Devices, didn't you?"

Mrs Weasley sighed "That's one of Fred and George's products, if I'm not mistaken."

Fred grinned. He still found it odd talking about WWW in front of his mother. "An experimental product made from our baby sister's ideas, so she got the first working product. She didn't keep it, apparently."

Harry smiled. The Dastardly Disguise Devices, namely the comb and contact lenses, were currently in his pocket. Thinking about the look he had on that day, Harry tapped them with his wand.

Everyone gasped again as Harry changed to someone who looked like Fleur's relatives. Bill groaned "Those two 'relatives' of Fleur's that were waiting for them at the Floo Reception Hall! That was you and Tonks? How did you know she'd be coming that day?"

Harry grinned and dropped the disguise. Fleur had a predatory smile as she looked at Bill "Pranksters never reveals their tricks. I am sorry, Bill, but it was the meeting with Harry that convinced me to join the Order, not my meeting with you, as you have mistakenly assumed."

Bill dropped his head in defeat. Harry was sure he wouldn't pursue Fleur any further. Fleur's plans do pack a punch, he decided.

Fleur continued "Of course, it was with 'Arry's consent that I even took on the job at Gringotts."

This doesn't sound good, thought Harry. Apparently, Bill had the same thought. "What does that mean?" He inquired.

Hermione theorised "It means the Fleur took the job after Harry convinced her to join the Order, right?"

"_Oui_. I took that job just for 'Arry. Why, just today, I was shouted at by a horde of goblins for scaring the dragons I was guarding."

"What happened?" asked Bill in true concern, even had Harry felt a sense of impending doom.

"Oh, some idiot sneaked up on me and made me scream and upset the dragons. Thankfully, nothing else happened."

"Did you find out who it was?" asked Mr Weasley.

Fleur removed her hand from his and casually put an arm over his shoulder. "_Oui_. It was a stag Patronus."

Harry winced as Fleur's smile grew to dangerous levels. "In return, it is only fair that I reveal 'Arry's secret taste in witches, isn't it, _mon cher_?" She asked him, with a wicked grin. He knew what was coming, but he didn't object. He simply decided that it was time. He smiled ruefully.

Fleur turned to face the audience, who were fidgeting in anticipation. "I know 'Arry's taste in witches every time I bite my tongue." And before anyone but Hermione could work out what she meant, Fleur dove for Harry's lips.

To Harry, it seemed like an eternity before she withdrew. An eternity lost in the heat of passion. Fleur had told him once that it was the Veela who coined the term and gave it true meaning and in that instant, Harry believed her completely.

Fleur leaned in as though she was going to kiss him again, ignoring the gasps, shouts, catcalls and wolf-whistles. She whispered, her breath warming his tingling lips, "_Bonne chance, mon amour_!" before gliding gracefully out of the kitchen.

x-x

AN: Ah, the world-famous evil plot device, the cliff hanger. This chapter came out to be so long that I pushed Apolline's arrival to the next one. Hopefully, I intend to finish the summer by the next chapter. But, if I don't, enjoy the story anyway. :P

Translations: I picked them off from Google, and being slightly paranoid, I looked up grammar, gender sense and word usage. I said SLIGHTLY paranoid! That's IT! Seriously, every English word has multiple French translations. So, if I made any mistakes, please do point them out and I'll correct them ASAP.

_ma cherie_ – my darling / my sweetheart

_mon nouveau_ _petit ami_ – my new boyfriend

_nouveau petit ami_ – new boyfriend (pretty obvious :P)

_Oui_ – Yes

_mon cher_ – my dear

_Bonne chance, mon amour_! – Good luck, my love


End file.
